Council requested answers regarding response times, payment disputes, and the transition plan.

The Medford City Council met on Tuesday to review the Mayor’s decision to switch EMS providers from Armstrong Ambulance to Cataldo Ambulance on January 19th. 

We heard concerns from many residents who wanted to know what led to this decision, why the city was moving on from the Armstrong EMTs who have been fighting to save lives in Medford for 25 years, and how a new provider would improve public safety for residents facing medical emergencies.

After four hours of discussion, the Council unanimously voted to ask the Mayor to pause the EMS change. We asked the administration for:

1. Data to back up claims that EMS response times were getting worse overall under Armstrong
2. Records to show that Armstrong had broken trust in a dispute about contractual payments
3. A transition plan that addresses residents’ concerns about the potential impacts of the change

The City Council’s top priority is that Medford residents receive excellent patient care and quick responses to their medical emergencies from our city’s EMS provider. 

I’m confident that our Police, Fire, 911 Dispatch, and current and future EMS providers are all committed to public safety for our residents. 

Please read on for more details about the meeting, why the Council took the votes it did, and what happens next regarding Medford’s EMS transition.

Thank you to the Mayor’s Chief of Staff Nazarian, Fire Chief Evans, Police Chief Buckley, 911 Dispatch Supervisor Salvi, and Armstrong CEO Rich Raymond for attending our meeting last night and answering questions for over 4 hours. Thank you as well to the residents, Armstrong EMTs, and Teamsters Local 25 representing the EMT union members for speaking at our meeting. 

I firmly believe that honesty is the best policy, and our city is better off for having had these discussions rather than adopting an approach that we shouldn’t talk about this publicly because raising concerns and asking questions causes fear for residents. 

The City Administration’s presentation about how and why the Mayor made this decision boils down to the following:

• The Mayor’s/City’s trust in Armstrong was broken, and they did not think it could be repaired.
• The Mayor and city staff wanted Armstrong to make payments that were included in the expiring contract, and they felt that Armstrong was refusing to make those payments in bad faith.
• City staff were concerned about anecdotal evidence/individual cases of long response times, and staff did not feel Armstrong was responding to their concerns. (City staff, however, did not present data that showed a systemic increase in response times).
• The Mayor and Chiefs said that Cataldo was offering more services/benefits than Armstrong.
• The summation of all of these factors led the Mayor and her staff to not renew the Armstrong contract and choose Cataldo as a new provider.

Armstrong CEO Raymond presented his account of events and provided a timeline, email documentation, and data, which I would summarize as:

• Armstrong worked to restore trust and address the city’s concerns, and had talks city staff as late as November where Armstrong felt issues had been addressed and they would sign a new contract.
• The City had not invoiced Armstrong for payments in the contract for since 2020 (while having done so annually from 2011-2020), and Armstrong raised good faith legal concerns about the multi-year request and potential liability if the City did not provide contractually-required documentation necessary for compliance with Medicare kickback regulations.
• City legal counsel shared the concerns raised by Armstrong about the request for payment and agreed that they should work to ensure all parties were protected.
• Armstrong still has not received some of the financial documentation promised by the City for payments they made between March and December.
• Armstrong stands by its data on response times and offered to provide data for Medford for the past 10 years. CEO Raymond noted that the contract requires Armstrong to pay penalties for slow response times, which never occurred.

After this long discussion, the City Council was still left with many questions. Councilors want solid facts about the alleged ambulance response time issues, the legal dispute over contract payments, and the transition plan to onboard the new EMS provider.

Simply, the Council voted to request answers to these questions and ask the Mayor to pause the transition until we receive those answers.

My hopes are that these answers either more solidly prove the City Administration’s case for this decision or lead to reflection and a change of direction. 

If the Mayor’s administration continues with the transition as planned, I will ask that they provide clear metrics on EMS response times to compare the services residents received from Armstrong and those residents will receive from Cataldo. 

Setting clear goals and ways to measure the excellence of EMS care we receive has to be the foundation of this decision. This is a 3-year contract, and as the Mayor wrote in an email to Armstrong, “you never know what’s going to happen in the future.”

This will always be an ongoing discussion over time as EMS contracts are reviewed and signed to provide this essential public safety service for residents. 

Our community deserves nothing less than the best decisions made with the best information possible through open engagement with residents and clear and effective communication. The Council will continue its work to ensure our city government meets that high standard.

Sincerely yours,

Zac Bears
President
Medford City Council