Christopher Peak File Photo
NHFD Paramedic Keith Kerr treats man who overdosed on heroin.
Weeks after approving a budget that would outsource paramedic services to a private company, alders voted on Tuesday night to create a working group that would revisit the issue.
New Haven currently bases its Advanced Life Support (ALS) services within the fire department. The city employs 38 paramedics across 3 ALS units.
The 2020 – 2021 city budget, which the Board of Alders approved on May 26, eliminated 12 firefighter positions. The city stated that it would “pivot away from providing paramedic services through the New Haven Fire Department” and instead rely on the private sector to offer services.
Paul Bass Photo
Paramedics respond to a call earlier this month.
The Rev. Boise Kimber, a former fire commissioner, and Kenneth Oliver, New Haven’s EMS supervisor, asked alders to call a separate public hearing on the matter. Kimber noted that the alders could call for an amendment to the budget.
On Tuesday night, the Board of Alders’ Public Safety Committee held the hearing, with testimony on the matter from paramedics, fire department administrators, other alders, and community members.
Advocates for privatization have cited the city’s tight budget. New Haven is currently required to have 72 firefighters working per shift, which entails paying overtime costs. If the city outsources paramedic services, that minimum could be reduced to 69 firefighters per shift.
At Tuesday’s hearing, Fire Chief John Alston (pictured) defended the decision as a cost-saving measure.
“When we’re at the table battling for these dollars, when you’re sitting with the superintendent of schools and the chief of police, we’re all battling for dollars,” he said. He argued that by outsourcing paramedic services, New Haven would maintain the same quality of ALS services while saving costs.
Alston and Chief Administrative Officer Scott Jackson clarified that the shift to a privatized paramedic service would not happen overnight. The process of determining the details of privatization have been delayed as Emergency Medical Services respond to the Covid-19 pandemic. Jackson said that Elicker intended to open up a conversation with the public about the process.
Several alders noted that the budget plans for the reduced costs of going from 72 to 69 firefighters per shift, relying on an assumption that ALS services will be privatized.
Critics of the proposed move to the private sector expressed that they distrust private companies to maintain the same timeliness and quality of care as the fire department.
Many who testified voiced concerns that specifically pertained to American Medical Responders (AMR), a private ambulance company that runs paramedic services in towns neighboring New Haven, including Hamden. AMR supplements New Haven’s paramedic services and is a likely candidate to take over ALS units if the city outsources the system.
Darrell Brooks (pictured), a fire department veteran, said that AMR is slower to respond to calls than city-employed paramedics. “In my 25 years, I can’t tell you how many times we were sitting on call waiting for an AMR unit to show up,” he said.
Eli Rosario, a paramedic who first started out as an EMT, echoed this concern. He recalled once waiting ten minutes for an AMR vehicle to arrive on the scene of an overdose.
“They are part of a corporation… They are owned by an even larger corporation,” said Julian Murillo, also a paramedic. “Pleasing their shareholders is really what matters most… It’s all about saving profits.”
Some argued that the move to privatize ALS services is particularly unwise during the Covid-19 pandemic. According to EMS Supervisor Oliver (pictured), New Haven paramedics have responded to 997 Covid-related calls so far.
“It’s almost like we’re trying to balance lives in the midst of a budget, and we can’t be doing that in a pandemic,” said Beaver Hills Alder and committee member Brian Wingate.
Oliver said that in particular, the transition to the private sector would be “detrimental to the black and brown communities in this city.”
Multiple speakers noted that black and Latinx individuals are more likely to need emergency services, in part because they are more likely to live with illnesses such as asthma and sickle cell disease.
Brooks said that instead of reducing costs within the fire department, the city should heed calls from the Black Lives Matter movement resounding across the nation and defund the police department.
Alders questioned Alston’s assertion that privatizing paramedic services would not lead to a reduction in the quality of care.
Downtown/East Rock Alder Abby Roth asked Alston if he is certain that private companies could take on the load of serving New Haven.
“Study wise, there’s not been a study on whether those private companies can take on” responding to calls in New Haven, Alston said. He reaffirmed that he would ensure that the city would “maintain quality assurance and quality control.”
As committee members discussed how to respond to the request to reopen budgetary proceedings, Board of Alders President Tyisha Walker-Myers offered a suggestion: start a working group devoted to the matter, including both the fire department and members of the public.
“It was clear to me that it could possibly happen if it’s sought out correctly, and the community needs to weigh in and decide what course of action we need to take,” Walker-Myers said.
After a motion from Wingate, the committee voted to heed Walker-Myers’ advice and start the working group.
they distrust private companies to maintain the same timeliness and quality of care as the fire department.
Sorry, how many ambulances does NHFD have? Two?, Four?. How many paramedics? Branford, a town with a quarter New Haven's population has five ambulances staffed with paramedics, and runs at least three at all times.