Clatsop County weighs EMS system overhaul; staff to seek one-year extension of Medex contract

Justin Gibbs, ambulance service area administrator, told the Clatsop County Board of Commissioners that recent state EMS modernization laws and ongoing rulemaking make now the right time to assess and strengthen the county’s emergency medical services.

Brent Van Culin of Brent Van Culin LLC outlined a three-part project: a system assessment and stakeholder engagement; a policy- and strategy-development phase; and a final set of draft policies and agreements. Van Culin said the assessment will incorporate input from hospitals, transport providers, first responders and community stakeholders and be delivered to the board in a mid‑July report, with a follow-up work session in August.

Van Culin identified several emerging themes from stakeholder interviews, including "a dispatch fragmentation that's leading to delays and activation of first responders and transport agencies," response-time challenges in South County and other rural coverage gaps, and concerns about financial transparency and equitable cost sharing across agencies. He also noted a strength: most county agencies operate under a single medical director and the county benefits from having a helicopter‑based critical‑care resource.

Commissioners asked how volunteers and wider emergency‑management planning would be included. "How much are the community volunteers part of it?" Commissioner Thompson asked. Van Culin said volunteers are represented through fire chief groups and station visits and that additional stakeholder groups can be added at the commissioners' discretion. Justin Gibbs said the EMS work is aligned with the county’s emergency operations plan update and annex development, which he said will allow integration of volunteer groups in specific response annexes.

Gibbs told the board staff will bring a formal item later this month: "It'll be an amendment to the franchise agreement with Medex, to extend that agreement for an additional year, based on, you know, this assessment," he said, explaining staff believe an extension would be in the public interest while the assessment and rulemaking proceed.

The presentation did not include a request for immediate policy changes; commissioners asked for continued outreach, data on response times, and clarity on proposed timelines. The assessment report, as described by presenters, is expected in mid‑July and will return to the board for discussion at the August work session.