will take the lead on examining Fort Worth鈥檚 EMS services, after the City Council unanimously approved a $182,500 contract with the public safety consultant.
It鈥檚 the first time in more than a decade that Fort Worth has commissioned a comprehensive study of its EMS system, which MedStar currently manages. Fort Worth has relied on MedStar for emergency medical services since 1986. But several times throughout the EMS provider鈥檚 tenure, it has run into financial problems.
Over the past several years, those problems reared their heads again 鈥� and this summer, MedStar officials told city leaders that they鈥檇 need a significant subsidy to continue serving Fort Worth residents at the current level.
Since that announcement, Fort Worth has taken several steps to stabilize the provider and scrutinize its future. Mayor Mattie Parker created a council committee dedicated to in the city, whose members will work with Fitch & Associates in the coming months. Council members also approved a carved out for potential allocation to MedStar, to help the provider stay afloat while the study is ongoing.
What鈥檚 next
- Fitch & Associates will begin meeting with the council committee Nov. 7. The consultant will provide updates on 45-, 90- and 120-day intervals, and give a final report by April 30, 2024.
- City staff will make a recommendation to council members Dec. 5. on how much of the $4.2 million set aside should be given to MedStar. Council members will officially vote on the allocation Dec. 12
The process the city used to select the contractor was a good one, Matt Zavadsky, MedStar鈥檚 chief transformation officer, said.
鈥淔itch is a very well-respected public safety consultant that has done many similar projects across the country,鈥� he said.
This isn鈥檛 the first time Fort Worth has tapped Fitch & Associates to examine EMS services. In 2008, the company was commissioned to identify problems with MedStar, assess its financial model and offer recommendations for improvement.
Among those recommendations: increasing the subsidies per capita that MedStar collected from each member city it served. MedStar serves 14 cities across Tarrant County.
鈥淔ailure to increase funding to levels of required performance will ultimately result in patients being harmed,鈥� the contractor wrote in the 2008 report.
At the time, Fort Worth wasn鈥檛 keen on increasing funding to the provider over the long term. The following year, a different consultant group recommended entirely. In response, MedStar sought to become completely financially independent from the cities in its coverage area.
Fifteen years later, both organizations are back at the drawing board.
Michael Glynn, president of Fort Worth鈥檚 fire department union IAFF 440, said it鈥檚 high time for a review of the system. The union, which itself hired Fitch & Associates for a separate study last year, has criticized MedStar for its and .
鈥淚鈥檓 looking forward to an outside entity or agency coming in and taking a look at the system,鈥� Glynn said. 鈥淪omeone with experience in that industry and someone who has a pretty good understanding already of what the system looks like.鈥�
IAFF 440 has pushed council members to consider a switch to fire-based EMS, which would make the Fort Worth Fire Department the primary EMS provider in the city. In the 2008 study, Fitch & Associates cautioned leaders against moving in that direction 鈥� but now, more than a decade later, council members have indicated .
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