News
Editorial COPCN 10-05-10 / Chief Stolts Address October 26th Commission Meeting
October 5, 2010
Editorial COPCN 10-05-10 / Naples Daily News
On October 26, the residents of North Naples have the opportunity to have their voices heard by their elected County Commissioners on an issue that truly may have life or death implications. The North Naples Fire Control & Rescue District has applied to the Board of County Commissioners for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Need ("COPCN") to allow the District's 54 State Certified Paramedics to practice Advanced Life Support ("ALS") Services without the necessity of waiting for a Collier County medic to arrive on scene.
Currently, the Fire District's State Certified Paramedics can only provide Advance Life Support Services after the arrival of a Collier County medic. Often times, fire personnel are on scene for several minutes before the arrival of a Collier County medic. A delay of a few minutes can literally mean the difference between life and death for a patient. In no other circumstances is the delivery of services as quickly as possible more critical than in emergency medical situations.
The taxpayers of North Naples have funded the certification and training of the District's paramedics to improve the level of emergency services provided. These trained professional meet all State requirements to perform ALS Services, and maintain their certifications and meet training requirements. There is no reason they should not be able to fully perform their duties without the presence of a Collier County medic. Across the nation, firefighter/paramedics perform ALS Services without the presence of County medical personnel.
The theory that firefighters need only provide Basic Life Support Services ("BLS") and leave the ALS services to Collier County paramedics has been repeatedly voiced by the County's Medical Director. However, BLS can be provided within the first two to three minutes of arrival. Often, the firefighter/paramedic has to sit idly by after completing BLS, waiting for the Collier County Medic to arrive for several minutes, a time when vital ALS services could be performed by a qualified North Naples Fire District paramedic if the District had the COPCN.
According to a recently released study of EMS field operations, which is available in its entirety on our District website (www.northnaplesfire.com), response data from more than 300 U.S. Fire Departments show that when dispatched simultaneously, a fire unit arrives prior to an ambulance about 80% of the time. In addition, the efficiency of the provision of service is impacted by the order of arrival of qualified personnel. When assessing responder's ability to efficiently complete procedures on-scene, crews with one ALS provider on both an engine and an ambulance completed all scene tasks more quickly than a crew with a BLS provider on the engine and two ALS providers on an ambulance. This suggests that ALS placement can make a difference in response efficiency.
Don't let bureaucracy prevent qualified professionals from providing life saving services to their taxpayers. Contact your County Commissioner and voice your support for issuing the COPCN. Better yet, attend the County Commission Meeting on October 26 and show your support. Contact Fire Chief Orly Stolts with any questions.