Title
Authorizing Council's Committee on Public Safety to hold hearings to examine the state of Philadelphia's EMS system and the areas where additional support is needed to ensure that the Philadelphia Fire Department is equipped with the necessary tools to perform their job.
Body
WHEREAS, The proper and efficient administration of the City of Philadelphia's EMS system is of the utmost importance; and
WHEREAS, The City of Philadelphia EMS system received over 297,000 calls in FY17; and
WHEREAS, It is necessary for the City to ensure that all systems are functioning properly and if there are any gaps, that those gaps be addressed promptly in order to ensure the continued success and safety of EMS response for the residents of the City; and
WHEREAS, A routine examination of the City's EMS system is necessary to ensure that the Department is operating as efficiently as possible, especially given the high demand of the services provided by the Philadelphia Fire Department; and
WHEREAS, The average one-alarm fire call involves the utilization of 16-24 people, which means that there are significant workforce implications when multiple incidents happen at the same time, or within very close succession to one another; and
WHEREAS, Fire Commissioner Adam Thiel acknowledged that there are times during 12-hour shifts when medics aren't able to use the bathroom or eat a meal due to the volume of calls that the Department is receiving at a given time; and
WHEREAS, There are required training sessions that must be completed by all EMS personnel, which are having to be completed as off-duty assignments, resulting in additional overtime pay, as a result of heavy individual caseloads by EMS personnel across the City; and
WHEREAS, There is a vested interest by this Council and the City to ensure that all of our EMS personnel and the Fire Department are receiving the proper breaks and relief during the shift in order to maintain the high level of care that they provide to ...
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