Who
- Contra Costa County member hospitals
- Contra Costa County emergency medical services
- Contra Costa County Fire Protection District
What
On Jan. 30, the Contra Costa Fire Protection District (Contra Costa County’s 911 ambulance provider) announced to hospital leaders that it will implement a new APOT policy. The policy states that ambulance crews that have been waiting for 60 minutes will work with emergency departments to offload patients immediately, so that they can return to service. At the request of Hospital Council, the fire district is meeting with each Contra Costa County emergency department to review the policy and prepare before it takes effect.
The Contra Costa Fire District’s policy is modeled on a policy that Falck Ambulance put into place in Alameda County last March. Since that time, there have been no “hard offloads” at 60 minutes in Alameda County. However, the policy has helped to improve communication between emergency department staff and ambulance crews.
Takeaways/Next Steps
Hospital Council continues to convene quarterly APOT meetings in Contra Costa County