The Multnomah County Board of Commissioners recently filled seats on the newly established Emergency Medical System Advisory Council (EMSAC), appointing 12 members during their meeting last Thursday. According to a county release, the advisory council is tasked with assessing and advising on potential changes to the county’s emergency medical system, in accordance with the Ambulance Service Plan (ASP) and County Code. The appointed members, a diverse group including healthcare professionals and system stakeholders, are expected to bring a range of perspectives to the table.
Among those appointed are Allison Empey, the Vice Chair of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at OHSU Pediatrics, and Andrew Mendenhall, CEO of Central City Concern. They join other esteemed members like Shawn Baird, CEO of Metro West Ambulance, and Bill Toepper, a retired emergency physician and founder of Portland Street Medicine. Dr. Richard Bruno, Health Officer, and Aaron Monnig, Emergency Medical System Administrator, introduced the candidates, ensuring that at least a third of them represent individuals who may require ambulance services in the county.
The inception of this council comes after an extensive period where the Tri-County Protocol Development Committee, among others, has been providing suggestions on clinical innovations without the imagined redundancy that EMSAC might have presented. Dr. Bruno hinted, during the meeting, at the possibility of considerable changes to the function of EMSAC as part of an upcoming assessment of the ASP. “The ASP assessment will provide us with a great opportunity to consider the perspectives of this group of professionals in performing system improvement recommendations,” Dr. Bruno was quoted as saying in a county news release…