SACRAMENTO COUNTY, CA (MPG) - The City of Sacramento Fire Department and Medic Ambulance entered a partnership on Nov. 1 to provide Basic Life Support (BLS) transport services in Sacramento County.

This collaboration represents a major advancement in emergency response and is expected to benefit the community by better optimizing resources for critical emergencies.

“This collaboration demonstrates our commitment to modernizing Sacramento County’s emergency medical response,” said Sacramento County Emergency Medical Services Agency (SCEMSA) Medical Director, Dr. Greg Kann. “We believe it will have a lasting, positive impact on ambulance service availability and care quality during transports in the community.”

This partnership was made possible by Sacramento County Emergency Medical Services Agency’s implementation of an innovative tiered response policy in 2023. Prior to the tiered response policy, all 911 transports required an Advanced Life Support (ALS) paramedic ambulance, even for calls that could be safely handled by Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) with BLS ambulances.

Under the new policy, BLS ambulances can assist with non-critical 911 calls, helping to ensure Advanced Life Support ambulances are available for patients with urgent medical needs.

This partnership marks the first official use of BLS ambulances within the City of Sacramento’s 911 system.

What this Means for the Community

Enhanced Availability of Advanced Life Support Resources: By assigning Basic Life Support ambulances to appropriate non-critical calls, the County’s ALS ambulances remain available and ready to respond to life-threatening emergencies.

More Efficient Patient Transport: Approximately 10-20% of 911 calls can be safely managed by Emergency Medical Technicians in Basic Life Support ambulances, allowing quicker and more efficient care for these patients.

Supporting Paramedic Crews at Hospitals: Medic Ambulance by Emergency Medical Technicians will be able to assist paramedic crews at hospitals by taking over patient care during offloading, allowing paramedics to return to service faster.

The partnership underscores Sacramento County Emergency Medical Services Agency’s proactive approach to advancing emergency medical services and represents a forward-thinking strategy to strengthen the efficiency of the County’s 911 system.​​