I began my tenure on the Westside Ambulance board roughly a year ago with virtually no knowledge of the district, its operations and the industry as a whole. While I am in no way an expert, I have learned a lot in a very short time. I took this position for the sole purpose of helping to ensure that emergency medical services were provided in a timely manner when a community member was in need and that still holds true today. I quickly learned that there were several issues putting this in jeopardy and want to do everything possible to combat them. Aside from the ongoing financial pressures, a recent series of negative events has been unfolding so I felt compelled to share my thoughts as a newer board member
The main problem we face as a district is lack of funding and the fact that we, the people of the district, pay for ambulance services seems to be a little-known fact among the public. Our current level of funding comes from a tax measure passed in the early 80s with no adjustments for inflation. Think about the typical $3 cost of a value meal at the local Burger King in 1985 and compare that to the $14 it costs today for the same meal. We are operating with funding from that era but the life-saving measures we provide are much more important than a #1 on the drive-thru menu. Funding from our current tax measure (roughly $384,000 in 2025) covers less than a third of our total payroll, which makes our existence in 2024 nothing short of a miracle.
The district attempted to increase its tax revenue in 2022 but failed to get the 2/3 majority required to pass the measure. I believe one of the main reasons the previous measure didn’t pass was our failure in public outreach. We didn’t do enough to let the communities we serve know how dire our need for adequate funding actually is. We won’t make that mistake again, which is my primary motivation in writing this letter. We recently put another measure on the ballot in 2024 to help close the funding gap and have spent countless hours over the past year on this alone. The time, money and effort needed for this grows exponentially the closer we get to the election. While some of the concerns mentioned in earlier letters to the editor are valid, “lack of attention by the district board” is a complete farse as this has been a top priority of the board for several years, well before my time. In fact, I cannot remember attending a single meeting where this issue was not discussed.
It is true that we have recently lost three paramedics, however, our current level of funding doesn’t allow us to compete with other local agencies when it comes to paramedic wages. Our current full-time paramedic wages range from $19.12 - $23.36 per hour while neighboring agencies start around $22.59 per hour and can get as high as $46.85 per hour. Though our district offers perks such as excellent medical benefits and living quarters, it is no secret that paramedics will leave for such significant wage increases. We have been running lean on paramedics for several years now due to competing wages and have recently approved a competitive increase in their pay. We know that taking care of our employees is of the utmost importance and are putting measures in place to ensure this, which will translate into better service for community members. To say that “evidently there were no efforts to retain them or efforts to improve the situation” is a slap in the face to our board and staff who have been working tirelessly to battle through these unprecedented times. In all honesty, I was naïve prior to being appointed to this position but I have learned enough over the past year to lose sleep over that fact that we are significantly underfunded for what our community needs. Our district is unconventional and serves multiple zones (Newman, Gustine, Stevinson and Santa Nella), which magnifies the need for adequate funding. We are in a rural area, that even in ideal circumstances could mean over an hour transport time to the nearest hospital. We need the support of local residents to attend meetings, hear what we are doing to remedy the situation and help spread the word to community members.
Another major headwind we face in the funding arena is insurance collections. Roughly 60% of our citizens transported have Medi-Cal or Medicare and another little-known fact is that we receive less than half the cost of our services (generally 30%-46%) from those companies so a huge portion of our business is done at a loss. A 1980s tax revenue package is nowhere near enough to offset this. As an emergency service dedicated to the wellbeing of the community, we willingly provide our lifesaving services first and foremost knowing that the majority of the time we will be paid pennies on the dollar for our services. We also have issues with private insurance companies but have been working hard in the last year with collections companies to help in this area and have recently seen an uptick in these collections with the help of our legal team. We have been working on a revenue bond for several months to aid in this process that was recently realized but is only a temporary solution to the major funding issues our district faces.
The recent downward spiral of negative events began with the resignation of our chief. This prompted a thorough investigation resulting in legal fees, scheduling and operational issues, employee morale drop and negative public perception. We took immediate action given the legal timeframe and quickly found an interim chief who has proven to be capable, invested in our future as a district and willing to step into the role during extreme circumstances. This quick transition has helped us move forward and focus on the other major issues we face as a district. With the recent loss of paramedics, our interim chief has even stepped into the paramedic role on the ambulance, which is a rarity in the industry. Her investment in the success of our district has played a significant role in our rebuilding process.
Recent accidents have also been detrimental to our operations as a district, including one of our units being hit by a drunk driver. These accidents have had an impact on the already present scheduling and operational issues the district faces. Fortunately, these incidents were dealt with immediately and are in the process of being resolved.
A letter from earlier this year also mentions seeing our local ambulance less and seeing Patterson and AMR more frequently. Given the recent accidents, resulting damage to our units and loss of paramedics this is likely true. Our district has a mutual aid agreement with Stanislaus and Merced counties, so it is no surprise that the neighboring agencies are here to help in these circumstances. From my experience, we generally help Patterson about the same amount they help us but their help has likely increased with recent incidents and we are truly grateful for it. While we are fortunate to have such a great neighboring agency, this only solidifies the need for adequate funding.
These are truly unprecedented times in our nation, and we are by no means perfect, but I can assure you that our staff has the best interests of community members at heart in every decision we make. We may disagree on things from time to time but remain steadfast on the fact that we exist to serve the community and put their interests at the forefront of every decision. Our district and surrounding agencies are a family and when times get tough, families must stick together. We must band together to pass this upcoming measure and ensure that our families are taken care of in times of need. I welcome any community members to come to our meetings, see firsthand the obstacles we face, voice their concerns and more importantly, be a part of the solution.
Shaun Felber
