By Jordan Travis
The Record-Eagle
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. 鈥� One new ambulance is in and three more firefighters are set to join the Traverse City Fire Department within a week.
There鈥檚 more to do so the department can become the city鈥檚 primary ambulance transport agency, including adding more firefighters and training them as paramedics, department Chief Jim Tuller said.
Tuller is also expecting another ambulance before Christmas.
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City commissioners approved hiring six more firefighters at their June 16 meeting in a 6-1 vote, with Commissioner Tim Werner voting against. (He said he objected to other hires included in the request.)
It鈥檚 the second of a two-step hiring plan city leaders OK鈥檇 in April 2024 to add nine overall, plus an emergency medical services administrator.
In November 2023, city voters approved taxing themselves by up to 1 mill by rolling back a state-imposed cap on the city鈥檚 operating millage for 20 years. That additional tax money 鈥� estimated at more than $1 million in the first year 鈥� will pay for the department鈥檚 additional personnel and equipment.
Tuller said he figured the department should be ready to gradually take over as the city鈥檚 primary transport agency in one to two years.
鈥淣ow, it could come as soon as a year or so, but one of the variables that we鈥檝e taken a lot of steps to try to mitigate and address is our recruitment,鈥� he said.
Just about every public service agency struggles to hire more people, Tuller said. TCFD is getting help from a recruiter working in the city鈥檚 human resources department, and is taking other approaches as well. Those include a range of strategies from recording a promotional video to attending career fairs and reaching out to colleges that offer firefighter paramedic programs.
Kathryn Dunklow has been the department鈥檚 EMS administrator since she joined in February. She said hiring and training are the biggest factors in determining how long it will take for the department to become the primary transport agency.
鈥淪o we鈥檙e trying to get staffed up because we are going to be running with firefighter paramedics and the individuals we鈥檙e hiring are required to get their paramedic license within three years of their hire 鈥� if they are not already a paramedic,鈥� she said.
The department is also adding equipment, including the power stretchers, heart monitors and an automatic chest compression device called LUCAS to equip its new ambulance, Dunklow said.
Mobile Medical Response Education Consortium and Affiliates offers an accelerated training over 44 weeks for a program that otherwise can take up to two years, Dunklow said.
TCFD pays firefighters鈥� tuition, and they go to class three days a week.
Mobile Medical Response is the city鈥檚 primary transport agency, with TCFD responding to every medical call and MMR transporting patients to the hospital, if needed. But TCFD will transport if an MMR ambulance isn鈥檛 available 鈥� or TCFD arrives first and the situation is urgent.
Tuller and others in the department previously pitched having city firefighter paramedics take over for primary transport to shorten response times in medical emergencies. It also creates a continuum of care, with the same personnel tending to a patient until they reach the hospital.
Planning and analysis firm TriData concluded the department could feasibly take over as a primary transport agency in a study it released in December 2020 .
That same report suggested the department add an EMS administrator if it was decided that TCFD make the switch. Then city commissioners unanimously approved creating the position in November, meeting minutes confirm.
Dunklow said her job is to oversee anything within TCFD having to do with the EMS side. That includes a lot of interaction with firefighter paramedics, reviewing patient care records and talking with the Northwest Regional Medical Control Authority to ensure the department is complying with regulations and providing evidence-based care.
Dunklow also evaluates procedures and equipment to look for efficiencies and address shortcomings, she said. One example is a video laryngoscope, a hook-shaped device with a screen on the end of its handle to make intubation 鈥� inserting a tube into the airway of a patient who can鈥檛 breathe on their own 鈥� less risky.
鈥淪o we can actually see through a small camera into the patient鈥檚 airway so we can make sure we鈥檙e putting the tube in the correct spot,鈥� she said.
EMS-related calls make up the vast majority of TCFD鈥檚 workload, with seizures, generalized weakness and abdominal pain making up the top three complaints out of 2,770 calls in the last year, according to department data.
Demand is increasing as the city鈥檚 aging population needs emergency medical services more and more, and big events like the upcoming National Cherry Festival bring many thousands of visitors to the community each summer, Dunklow said.
She鈥檚 excited about the department鈥檚 future, and delivering the quality of care that city taxpayers agreed to fund.
鈥淲e want to do a good job,鈥� she said, 鈥渁nd give everyone the great care that they deserve.鈥�
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