Steve Ammons gave a 30-minute report during today’s Jefferson County Commission committee meeting, telling his fellow commissioners what he learned from countless meetings to address an ambulance crisis in the county.

“The problem is real,” one commissioner said.

“So, what’s the solution?” asked another.

As Rome wasn’t built in a day, Ammons said it will take time and continued effort to solve a problem that has been years in the making. He laid out short term, mid-term and long-term solutions to a situation that can leave county residents waiting hours for an ambulance.

The commissioner who chairs the committee looking into the matter said critical findings include delayed or no ambulance response, a chaotic 911 call system and the lack of a single entity that is accountable. He added that emergency medical service is not recognized as an essential public service.

“The short term is 911. We know we have issues with 911, people calling it for the wrong reasons,” Ammons said. “We need PSAs (public service announcements) to say here’s an appropriate reason to call 911.”

Ammons also cited “a higher level of triage” through 911, where a nonemergency call could be routed to a nurse via phone. The caller may be able to get more information and perhaps find ways to get help.

The short-term concerns also include municipal contracts for service and municipal transport. These solutions are targeted for completion by the end of the calendar year.

Mid-term solutions address the issue of uninsured patients, the education and retention of needed EMS service providers and possible EMS governance through the Alabama Department of Public Health.

“I think our short-term solutions will help us determine what our long-term solutions will be,” Ammons said. “One of those is development of a public safety organization that will maybe coordinate EMS efforts countywide. That’s potential for 911 and EMA. This can be a public safety-convening entity that helps us come up with, how can we be more efficient? How can we better serve our citizens?”

Earlier, Doug Wood of the Aspen Institute presented a report about the institute’s Criminal Justice Reform Initiative’s Justice and Governance Partnership. The report cited common ground among census tracts that have high crime and those that deal with other ills, like poverty.

“We think it’s important in order for us to be able to address public safety, we need to be able to have the data and the information to make the right decisions,” Wood said, “and then use that data to reinvest in those neighborhoods to mitigate against different types of violence and to increase public safety.”

The proposed program would potentially point out ways to redirect resources for a greater public good. Funding for the JGP ranged from no funds needed initially to $250,000 the first six months to a year, to as much as $650,000 a year. Securing sustained funding for the project was a stated goal.

Amphitheater Funding

Commissioners also received a copy of a resolution of the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center Authority board to commit $5 million to buy down a portion of the project to bring a $50 million amphitheater to the former Carraway Hospital property.

“I just informed the commissioners what the BJCC did yesterday,” said Commission President Jimmie Stephens, a member of the BJCC board. “They exceeded the CVB (Convention and Visitors Bureau) and BJCC agreement. And the BJCC committed their $5 million.”

The amphitheater was discussed at the Oct. 18 commission committee meeting. The project proposal calls for Jefferson County, Live Nation and the BJCC to contribute $5 million apiece as a one-time investment in the project.

The matter was not on today’s committee agenda so it was not considered for action. It will likely be weeks before the county’s $5 million contribution to the project appears on a commission committee agenda.

“I don’t foresee it occurring until at least a couple of the other pieces fall in place,” Stephens said.

Commissioners will be sworn in for their next term at 10 a.m. on Nov. 16. An organizational meeting of commissioners, determining leadership and committee assignments, will be done on that day.