Klamath County Fire District 3 Ends Ambulance Service
The Sprague River district says rising costs and inadequate insurance reimbursement made the service unsustainable.
AT A GLANCE
Ambulance service ending: Klamath County Fire District 3 voted unanimously to discontinue its ambulance service.
Coverage changes: The former service area will be divided among Chiloquin, Klamath County Fire District 1, and Basin Ambulance.
Longer waits possible: District officials say some parts of the former service area will likely see increased ambulance response times.
District still responding: KCFD3 will continue providing fire protection and first response to medical calls within its district.
District 3: Klamath County Fire District 3 will continue providing fire protection and first response to medical calls after ending its ambulance service. Klamath County Fire District 3.
SPRAGUE RIVER, Ore. — Ambulance service provided by Klamath County Fire District 3 is coming to an end after the district board unanimously voted Friday to discontinue the program, a decision officials acknowledge will mean longer waits for emergency medical transportation in some areas of eastern Klamath County.
““This decision was not reached lightly or spur of the moment, and we recognize the hardship it will cause. Staff and board members explored extensive options to maintain service, as insurance billing does not cover the basic costs of running and maintaining the ambulance.””
The district announced that its former ambulance service area will be divided among Chiloquin Fire and Rescue, Klamath County Fire District 1, and Basin Ambulance.
“This regrettably will increase the wait time for some portions of the former service area,” the district said.
KCFD3 has stated they will continue providing fire protection and will still respond to medical emergencies within the district as a first responder, supporting whichever ambulance provider is dispatched to transport a patient.
The decision does not mean KCFD3 firefighters will stop responding to medical calls. What changes is the district’s ability to provide ambulance transportation from those calls.
According to the district, the problem ultimately came down to the cost of maintaining an ambulance operation.
“This decision was not reached lightly or spur of the moment, and we recognize the hardship it will cause,” the district said. “Staff and board members explored extensive options to maintain service, as insurance billing does not cover the basic costs of running and maintaining the ambulance.”
That financial gap is particularly difficult for rural ambulance providers, where crews may cover large distances while responding to comparatively fewer calls than services based in larger communities.
KCFD3 described its decision as part of a much broader problem facing eastern Klamath County and rural emergency medical services elsewhere.
“A long term solution for eastern Klamath County has remained elusive, as KCFD3 is the latest of many agencies over the last several decades who have been unable to sustain ambulance service despite their best efforts,” the district said.
KCFD3 also pointed to similar struggles among rural ambulance services elsewhere in Oregon and across the country.
For residents, the most immediate effect will be where the responding ambulance comes from and how long it takes to arrive.
Fire District 3 personnel will continue responding to medical emergencies within the district and can begin providing care while an ambulance is en route, but the district has not yet provided details about how its former service territory will be divided among the three ambulance providers or which communities could experience the greatest increase in response times.
Jefferson Daily News has asked Klamath County Fire District 3 for additional information about the board’s decision, how ambulance service was funded, how those finances differ from the district’s fire protection services, and how the change is expected to affect residents across the former ambulance service area.
As of publication, the district had not provided additional information.
KCFD3 thanked the ambulance employees who staffed the service around the clock and said the district will continue providing fire protection and emergency response within its service area.
“We are grateful to the ambulance staff who responded 24/7 to aid our community members,” the district said.
The change leaves eastern Klamath County once again confronting a longstanding rural emergency medical services problem: how to maintain reliable ambulance coverage across large distances when the cost of keeping an ambulance staffed and available exceeds what the service can recover through patient billing.
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