Title
A resolution under Chapter 17 of the Sedgwick County Code regarding the use of Air Ambulance Services within the County.
Body
Recommended Action: Take such action as the Board deems necessary.
Background: Private air ambulance companies utilizing rotor aircraft operated pursuant to a contract with Sedgwick County since approximately 1998. Between 2000 and sometime in the mid-2010s, helicopters were often utilized to respond to emergency calls, in coordination with Emergency Communications and Emergency Medical Services. The contracts with then-existing air carriers were allowed to lapse earlier this decade, and have not been renewed since that time; simultaneously, ground-based services for EMS have significantly expanded. At present, there is one air ambulance service operating helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft located within the County, and another ambulance business has indicated an intention to relocate similar equipment and services from Newton, Kansas to Wichita, Kansas. Currently, there are protocols established by the Sedgwick County Medical Society governing those situations where private air ambulances will be summoned to respond to a casualty event if deemed medically-necessary, and those protocols are observed by the County Medical Director, and followed by the Director of Emergency Communications and Director of Emergency Medical Services.
Upon inquiry from a Commissioner as to why helicopter ambulance services are no longer utilized as they were in the past, research into the subject was undertaken. While there is no formal prohibition against the use of these services within Sedgwick County, due to the vastly-expanded ground-based ambulance services provided by EMS, the need for use of aircraft appears to be less than a decade ago. However, in the interests of using all available tools at the County's disposal, this resolution has been drafted to perform a number of functions:
1. To express a policy preference from the Board of County ...
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