In its first year of operation as part of the Fort Worth Fire Department, the city\u2019s emergency medical services system is operating within budget expectations, delivering consistent medical outcomes and starting to improve ambulance travel times.<\/p>\n
Records obtained by the Fort Worth Report<\/a>, which were restated at a July 16 quarterly EMS Advisory Board meeting, initially showed ambulance travel times rise dramatically during the first nine months of operation compared to MedStar.<\/p>\n However, over the past three months, travel times have dropped significantly, a trend officials think will continue.\u00a0<\/p>\n Results for patients in most need of EMS resources, such as those experiencing cardiac or respiratory events, have also improved or held steady.\u00a0<\/p>\n July 1 marked the first anniversary of the city moving EMS services from MedStar to the fire department, under an agreement with 14 other member cities.\u00a0<\/p>\n This change was put in motion by Fort Worth City Council after the MedStar model was deemed unsustainable financially<\/a>.<\/p>\n Travel time challenges and improvements<\/p>\n When the city approved<\/a> the transition in May 2024, it set a goal for the new service to respond to 90% of all emergency calls within 8 minutes or less from when an ambulance starts its run until it arrives on scene.\u00a0<\/p>\n In the first nine months after the transition, average travel time slowed to well over 11 minutes, according to data presented at the July meeting by Whitney Burr, business process manager for the Fort Worth Fire Department.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n However, a significant decrease \u2014 to 8 minutes, 55 seconds \u2014 was achieved between April and June.<\/p>\n Burr credits a change<\/a> to a 24-hour on, 48-hour off shift schedule as a key enabler of the improved performance. Previously, EMS crews operated on a schedule of seven 12-hour shifts over a 14-day period.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe March 7 transition to the 24-48 shifts allowed us to use the number of available personnel, push them together and increase the peak-level units that are available to the system,\u201d Burr said.\u00a0<\/p>\n The change aligns with the schedule used for decades by the department for firefighters.<\/p>\n \u201cWe also had an enormous amount of recruits that were able to come out of our training program to fill that system further,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n Burr said travel-time targets are within reach. \u201c(Times) are becoming rapidly achievable, and we\u2019re going to keep striving to meet that goal.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Medical performance<\/p>\n Of the many EMS performance metrics collected by the city, three in particular are considered key to treating cardiac and respiratory emergencies.<\/p>\n Sustained return of spontaneous circulation, or ROSC, measures the success rate of restoring a productive heartbeat in a patient who experienced a heart attack or cardiac arrest. Data obtained by the Report shows EMS achieved 2% higher ROSC success rates than MedStar posted during its final year of operation.\u00a0<\/p>\n Another statistic, called first-pass intubation success, measures how often emergency personnel achieve the proper insertion of a breathing tube on the first attempt. The fire department EMS team has a success rate in excess of 84%, which is equivalent to MedStar\u2019s final-year performance.<\/p>\n Finally, Utstein survival rate measures the percentage of patients who experienced a cardiac arrest, had heart rhythm restored in the field and survived up to being discharged from a hospital.\u00a0<\/p>\n Dr. Jeffrey Jarvis, the city\u2019s EMS medical director, focused on the Utstein metric<\/a> in his presentation to the EMS Advisory Board.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis was the first time our system was above 40% in 10 to 15 years,\u201d Jarvis said, referring to the 2025 calendar year rate. \u201cIt was a substantial accomplishment based on the amazing work that all the men and the women in the field are doing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Jarvis said that tracking this metric over the course of a year is necessary because of the low number of patients per month that fall into this category.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Looking at a full year of data \u201cgives us a better idea of where we were,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n EMS staffing and turnover<\/p>\n Shaun Curtis, the fire department\u2019s deputy EMS officer, said the service currently employs 415 people<\/a> and has 30 staff vacancies.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Over the last year, EMS experienced a turnover rate of 19%, which is lower than the national average. A 2022 study<\/a> conducted by the American Ambulance Association cited a turnover rate of between 20% to 36% for EMTs and paramedics.<\/p>\n Curtis said the city recently hosted a lateral paramedic entry program for applicants who are already licensed and experienced, to keep pace with the turnover rate.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe had 16 folks show up to take that test, so hopefully we can get those folks on board quickly,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Financial performance<\/p>\n Emily Vinson, the fire department\u2019s EMS manager, said EMS expenditures will exceed revenues this fiscal year by $22.8 million. The shortfall will be covered by public funding from the member cities.\u00a0<\/p>\n Because revenue collection has been better than anticipated, Vinson predicted the funding gap will be $1.7 million less than budgeted.\u00a0<\/p>\n As the largest user, Fort Worth will contribute $18.7 million and the remaining $2.3 million will be allocated to the 14 member cities, prorated by the level of each city\u2019s usage of emergency medical services. Final allocations will be calculated at the end of the fiscal year in September.<\/p>\n Fort Worth\u2019s portion will be allocated to the city\u2019s general fund.\u00a0<\/p>\n EMS member cities\u00a0<\/p>\n In addition to Fort Worth, member cities served include:<\/p>\n Blue Mound In other business, interim fire chief and board chair Raymond Hill<\/a> led a vote to accept the withdrawal of Lakeside from the list of EMS member cities effective Sept. 30. The action was unanimously approved. Hill did not mention how Lakeside will receive EMS service going forward.<\/p>\n Doug Wilhelm is a member of the Fort Worth Report Documenters<\/a> crew and a freelance writer.<\/p>\n
\nEdgecliff Village
\nForrest Hill
\nHaltom City
\nHaslet
\nLake Worth
\nLakeside
\nRichland Hills
\nRiver Oaks
\nSaginaw
\nSansom Park
\nWestover Hills
\nWestworth Village
\nWhite Settlement<\/p>\n