By Shane Dixon Kavanaugh
oregonlive.com
MULTNOMAH COUNTY, Ore. 鈥� A Multnomah County commissioner鈥檚 long-anticipated proposal to address the will finally receive a public hearing this week 鈥� five months after she first tried to bring it before her commission colleagues.
Commissioner Sharon Meieran sought in February to have the commission debate and vote on her plan to allow the county鈥檚 ambulance provider, American Medical Response, to temporarily adjust its staffing model. The change was supported by and fire department officials.
Meieran鈥檚 effort, however, was thwarted by Multnomah County Chair Vega Pederson, who has reducing the county鈥檚 longstanding requirement of having two paramedics per ambulance to a hybrid of one paramedic and one EMT, even in some ambulances.
Instead, Vega Pederson has said she鈥檚 adhering to advice from medical experts who say that care standards would decline if the county鈥檚 ambulance staffing model changed. Earlier this year, the county entered into mediation with AMR, which has said it can鈥檛 hire enough paramedics, and began to levy against the company.
As chair, Vega Pederson has the what proposals come before the county commission 鈥� and which do not. The little-known authority is unparalleled among other large local government heads in Oregon and also .
After months of delaying a hearing and vote on the resolution pushed by Meieran, an emergency room physician, Vega Pederson will allow both Thursday.
It鈥檚 unclear why Vega Pederson finally relented. Julie Sullivan-Springhetti, a spokesperson for the chair, said the resolution 鈥渉as been on the Board鈥檚 planning calendar for some time.鈥�
鈥淐ommissioner Meieran indicated she wanted to go ahead with this matter,鈥� Sullivan-Springhetti said. 鈥淪o we鈥檙e following through on that commitment.鈥�
Meieran, an outspoken Vega Pederson critic, said she was surprised to learn that her plan was finally going before the commission.
鈥淭he way of the chair鈥檚 office around agendas is a complete mystery to me,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey should be set in accordance with the level of importance and priority to the community, but the chair鈥檚 office doesn鈥檛 seem to share the same perspective. At least we鈥檒l finally be having a public conversation.鈥�
It鈥檚 unclear whether Meieran鈥檚 proposal has the three votes needed to pass.
County officials have indicated that they are working to reach a separate resolution with AMR through the mediation process by the end of this month. Sullivan-Springhetti said that the county鈥檚 health department is scheduled to brief the board on its progress with AMR on Aug. 1.
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