Invest in life-saving service
Published 2:37 pm Wednesday, April 7, 2010
When you dial 911 in a medical emergency, you probably take for granted that within seconds, life-saving paramedics will be on their way.
It wasn’t always so.
Medic One services got their start in our region just 42 years ago. Their success was highlighted in a 1974 “60 Minutes” report, in which correspondent Morley Safer famously said, “If you have to have a heart attack, have it in Seattle.”
Following Seattle’s lead, Everett launched its own Medic One program in 1982, essentially bringing emergency-room services to homes, offices or anywhere else in the form of highly trained paramedics.
The program now employs 45 people, including 31 firefighter/paramedics who have undergone 3,000 hours of training through the University of Washington’s EMS program at Harborview Medical Center. They’re qualified to administer pre-hospital treatment in cases of heart attack, stroke, trauma and other emergencies, working in consultation with emergency room doctors.
Those services cost money, of course. In Everett, the emergency medical services levy voters approved a decade ago isn’t keeping up, for two reasons:
1) Costs have escalated, as in every area of health care.
2) The levy voters approved a decade ago for emergency medical services was later limited by a statewide initiative that capped annual property tax increases at 1 percent — far below what voters approved and what it actually costs to run an EMS program, especially one that has seen increases in demand and population growth.
The program is running this year with the help of a $2 million loan from the city’s operating budget.
To keep current service levels — three fully-staffed paramedic units and one basic life support aid car — Everett voters are being asked to restore the EMS levy to the rate that was approved in 2000 — 50 cents per $1,000 of property value. The owner of a $300,000 home would pay $150 a year, an increase of $52.86 over what’s currently paid.
In return, residents of Everett and those who work in the city can remain confident that when they need emergency medical help, they’ll get it. The levy will pay for EMS operations and equipment, keeping those paramedic crews at the ready 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Watch the mail for your ballot, which should arrive in the next day or two. Vote yes and mail it in by Election Day, April 27.
Then you can go back to taking those life-saving services for granted.
