Travis County Commissioners Court
October 13, 2009,
Item 10
Number 10, consider and take appropriate action on a template interlocal agreement between Travis County and all of the emergency services districts wholly within Travis County for emergency medical services.
>> thank you very much, I'm danny hobby, I'm the executive manager of the emergency services.
and it's quite a privilege today to come before you and briefly provide you some highlights in regards to this particular agreement.
it is for emergency medical services.
it is with the emergency services districts and as you know, we have some 14 in Travis County and this past year I have been working alongside of -- of esd Commissioners, esd chiefs, as well as Travis County staff in putting this agreement together.
this is the first agreement that has ever been developed like this between the emergency services districts and Travis County government.
it lays out -- as I have laid out for you in a highlight sheet, some things of which I think opens doors.
just like last October, I was here along with a bunch of folks that I brought with me today, I decided not to do that.
i also was -- small city, even though they were willing.
but it opens up doors for all of us to work together.
and I think that's what's needed today.
and I think that's what's needed for the future.
this particular agreement does not obligate us to a dollar today, however, it hopefully will -- will allow us to participate in joint funding for tomorrow.
and I think there's nothing more important in my life and in the work that I do than making sure that I provide the best possible care for our residents.
and I know you agree with that as well.
so when we sign that relationship agreement, we made a commitment with each other.
that we would look at every issue that pertained to the resident.
and their safety.
and that we would try to address it the best possible way that we could.
we came to the conclusion that we can do it better working together than trying to work separately.
so as you saw, 14 emergency services districts came together and signed an agreement with each other, but also with us, and they did -- and they will do so here as well.
it is my hope.
this is a template which means that I need to now take it and present it to each board.
however, most of the boards have already even tried to approve it.
i've had to tell them to stop.
>> [laughter] because we have to have a process.
and so let's make sure that we stay within the process.
but just briefly, this clearly defines I think terms and services in regards to the delivery of medical services, emergency medical services.
as you know, the esd's are fire stations.
they originally were volunteers.
most of them are now paid staff.
they now are in areas that are becoming more urban.
this is no longer just a county, as you know Commissioners and judge, of where they're just out there.
we are -- we have become one community basically, some areas are larger than others.
but growing all the time.
you know, I just finished a study on mega changes and I just don't think that we realize and remember enough about how far we have come in such a short period of time and how it ever changes.
and we must be part of that change in order to address those needs.
this allows for a new annual resource planning meeting.
never been done before, but we just sit down and talk about the basic needs of not only individual districts, but the districts as a whole.
more flexibility for all parties deciding on existing and future e.m.s.
station locations.
we now have an experiment that we're trying in minor where in 20 minutes we have the right parties to sit down and we had decisions made before I left.
an m.o.u., memorandum of understanding, will be coming to you in a couple of weeks that will demonstrate what this agreement is all about.
and that is we have people bringing resources together to make it all work.
the other thing that you see here is some standards regarding defined and clear standards regarding the maintenance of stations.
that's something that's never been done, either.
we've pretty well had verbal agreements.
but we don't need to do that, we need to make sure that we commit to a standard.
and abide by them.
that's for the protection of the first responders.
that's for the protection of the paramedicos that actually -- paramedics that actually arrive and all staff concerns as well as ultimately the resident.
funding for -- as I said for county e.m.s.
stations will now be determined not just by me coming to you and saying I need this station here, now we need this station here.
this is what this agreement is all about.
not "i" it's about "we".
i'm so proud to have worked with all of these people to make this particular document happen.
we also have a description of operational standards and what I call reporting by all parties.
we've not had that.
we need to be open and they have been.
and we have been and sharing of information on exactly what it is that we're doing with our services.
so that in a nutshell is what it's all about.
i wish to thank and I never do this, barbara, barbara wilson who is the attorney that I worked with on all of these interlocals, we meet every week to go over a whole list of interlocal that's we're constantly working on.
but this one has taken a while, hasn't it, barbara?
and it's been worth it.
you are going to see other agreements coming to you regarding the emergency services districts because now the door has been opened.
so I ask your approval today to -- regarding this particular agreement so that I can then move this forward and get it signed off --
>> this deserves approval because working with barbara, I think that I found out very early how esd's work and the -- and it's a little bit confusing to everybody.
but I think that barbara thanks so much for your guidance as we move through trying to get to this point.
this is an incredible improvement with the esd's and how they work together.
they -- also the medical director, being on board, was able to really help get the -- the credentials for the first responders and the -- and the other folks out there at the esd's, and they're really, really happy with what has happened here and I'm really glad.
it is about "we" not "i" or "you".
i move approval of this.
>> is it open for discussion?
is it seconded?
>> okay.
good.
barbara wilson, danny hobby, I can't call them both at the same time, it's one and then the other.
but anyway, wasn't to congratulate you and -- I want to congratulate you and to my left danny and all of the folks that have really worked real hard on this.
as far as the manor situation, I need to maybe hit on that.
i know m.o.u.
is coming back.
really, we have looked at this situation for a long time, how do we better serve the folks in manor?
of course they were basically coming out of the harris branch operation, then having to go all the way to manor and stuff like that, which is quite a ways down the road.
but with this situation and the new agreement with you coming into manor itself, we will be able to actually serve the folks within the immediate area which -- which the end result will be to reduce response time to whereby it will be more acceptable than what it was in the past.
my question was, we also created a new esd, district 13, of course it crossed the line, Travis County and bastrop.
the esd was actually in two counties.
i'm trying to determine how -- how do you work an agreement such as an esd 13 when you have someone across the -- the county line in bastrop county that we have to deal with, also.
i don't know if any other esd has that type of configuration.
they may and I don't really know.
but I do know that esd 13 was one of them.
how we come up with the agreement of those folks to ensure that the response time is also of importance and really should be at the top of the pyramid.
i think that's the direct that we're going in here.
how does that work?
>> that's a very good question.
what made that work, that's esd 1, bastrop Travis County, that is --
>> 1, I'm sorry.
>> that is the only one that actually crosses over.
but what has made all of this work is that relationship agreement.
that is we first of all had to develop a relationship with them.
to determine what it is that we're going to do with each other.
and the -- of course we're not as concerned about what's across the county, we're concerned about -- what we're concerned about is how they're working in Travis County.
but it all goes together.
>> right?
>> in that particular situation we first established the relationship.
so they signed the relationship agreement which said in that relationship agreement that we would work toward looking at every issue in regards to emergency services, one being emergency medical services and response, and so we immediately started working with them.
and what's unique about that situation and you mentioned Commissioner Gomez the medical director, whom I'm excited about, he has some great, new, what I consider to be visionary ideas about how we're going to do things in the county -- is that in regards to that particular esd, they have, the elgin fire department, that actually responds as first responders.
but what is making that happen is those first responders are credentialed, and they are credentialed under our medical director.
so when they come over and respond, they are applying and using the same standards, medical standards and guidelines that our folks do as well.
and so we've also supplied them and worked with them radios.
you know we are on a regional radio network where we can all talk together now.
so we have made available to them radios to where when they come over to Travis County they can now talk with all of our people.
it's just a really neat thing that even though they are perhaps coming from another county, and then of course as you know we also have other esd's under mutual aid that come and assist esd no.
2, Pflugerville, esd 13 uses the service of the elgin fire department as well as uses the services of the city of Austin e.m.s.
as well as Austin fire as well as all of the other districts that are nearby.
that's what you are seeing here Commissioner, you are seeing a willingness and the technology allows it, I'm real proud of the technology as you know.
but all that allow goes us to be able to -- allows us to be able to work together.
a lot of it is centered around communicating together.
just as we can communicate on the radio now, all of us, we can now communicate through these agreements, relationship agreements to be able to again, I use the term that chief Ron mullenberg uses I want to make sure that I take care of aunt molly.
aunt molly is that resident that needs our help at the most crucial time in her life.
right now you are beginning to see not colors of shirts and badges, you are beginning to see people that are willing to work together for the benefit of aunt molly.
and that doesn't make any difference whether they are across the border or not.
that's how that's working right now.
>> keep me in the loop, I guess, as far as when we get the new situation there in manor.
any response -- esd time for that.
in other words, that's very critical.
when -- when -- when everything is completed.
i would like to make sure that you keep me posted on that.
>> I need to let the public know.
i will speak to the camera.
what makes my job so much easier, too, is not only having these relationships, but of these relationships because Commissioner Eckhardt, Commissioner Davis and the judge and Commissioner Huber, Commissioner Gomez, I'm involved with Commissioner Gomez now in her district because of another situation that we want to make sure that we improve.
and just having y'all's support, I get energy, I have told you this all the time, I get energy just from you because you are interested in what it is that, you know, that my world is all about.
and you care about your residents to such an extreme that you are willing to go and take risks and do things that -- anyway, I'm proud to work for you.
>> thank you so much.
>> just for a moment, danny, first of all, we have a u.t.
student here, dylan clement who is covering this for his class, but we also have members of the press here and in fact daily and community impact.
this is a big story.
it doesn't get covered much that the 14 esd's originally were volunteer fire departments.
now a majority of what they do is emergency medical calls.
we are in the process here today, as a big point where we are moving forward on building a county-wide safety net through these relationships.
between 14 separate esd's with their 14 separate taxing jurisdictions and where city of Austin's e.m.s.
and fire department, as well as partners outside of the county such as elgin and bastrop.
this is --
>> big deal.
>> this is a big deal.
building a county-wide emergency medical safety net that provides the same level of service for aunt molly on one side of the county and aunt mabel on the other side of the county, irrespective much their taxing districts.
this is really stupendous.
>> they have come a long, long way.
>> I really want to applaud the spirit that encompasses this because the spirit of cooperation that's evolved and developed through this whole process is awesome, it's something that we could share even more throughout other areas of the county and other issues and projects that are being worked on.
it's exciting to see how excited the people are that are involved in this.
>> uh-huh.
>> >
>> [indiscernible] will be real, real proud.
he passed on.
he was a hard worker over there in the minor area.
he envisioned what's happening right here and especially with that new facility that will be housed in manor to -- to get a better response.
he would be a very proud man.
i'm quite sure he's looking down on us today and saying hey, way to go, I've been trying to get there and we have finally gotten there.
so it's a big deal.
>> good.
all in favor?
an excited five votes in favor, mr.
hobby.
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Last Modified:
Tuesday, October 13, 2009 2:00 PM
