EMS reports 146 cardiac arrests in June; community paramedics expanding Suboxone starts and 5150 authority

Deputy Chief Sandra Tong delivered the EMS and Community Paramedicine report, saying EMS averaged about 357 calls in June and that the division participated in a multi‑agency tabletop MCI drill simulating 130 patients. On cardiac arrests, Tong reported the department was dispatched to 146 arrests in the month; resuscitation was attempted on 51 patients, 40 were transported to hospital and 11 were terminated in the field. "Nineteen of them had return of spontaneous circulation," Tong said, a figure she described as encouraging when compared with national registry data submitted to CARES.

Tong said the Community Paramedicine program has trained 72 members since 2017 and graduated 10 members in the latest cohort. She said paramedics started 20 Suboxone treatments in the field during the month (about 1.6 per week), outpacing a nearby jurisdiction cited in the report. The division also reported 1,170 SCRT calls in June, with 486 "remain in community" dispositions and 62 walkaways; the department stressed that the central barrier to higher connection rates for substance‑use treatment is that many people decline offered resources unless they meet 5150 criteria.

Commissioners asked about hospital dispositions for psychiatric holds and the department said hospitals accept holds but the fire department lacks data about how long hospitals keep patients before discharge; commissioners requested additional cross‑agency data to track hospital length of stay for 5150 patients. Tong said the department recorded 26 psychiatric holds in June.