REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
March 1, 2022
FROM
LEONARD X. HERNANDEZ, Chief Executive Officer, County Administrative Office
SUBJECT
Title
Proclamation of Local Emergency - Emergency Medical Services System
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Find that there is an urgent need to proclaim a local emergency within San Bernardino County resulting from the impact of the worldwide Novel Coronavirus pandemic to the Emergency Medical Services system.
(Presenter: Daniel Munoz, Interim EMS Administrator, 388-5807)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Provide for the Safety, Health and Social Service Needs of County Residents.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of this item will not result in the use of Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost) as there is no cost or financial impact associated with the proclamation of this local emergency. However, the County could incur significant costs resulting from this emergency. These costs, which are not fully determined at this time, could potentially require the use of additional Discretionary General Funding. Should this occur, a future item will be submitted to the Board of Supervisors (Board) for approval of additional Discretionary General Funding.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Inland Counties Emergency Medical Agency, as the local Emergency Medical Services (EMS) agency, is responsible for ensuring effective EMS for the Counties of San Bernardino, Inyo, and Mono. ICEMA administers State and local codes and regulations governing the provision of emergency medical care to the sick and injured at the scene of an emergency and during transport to a care hospital.
The Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) originated in Wuhan, China in late 2019 and began spreading, initially, within China and then to other countries. On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak to be a “public health emergency of international concern”. This was followed on January 31, 2020 by the United States Human Services Secretary declaring a public health emergency. California issued a Proclamation of a State of Emergency (Governor’s Proclamation) on March 4, 2020 in order to deal with the cases in California. Subsequently, San Bernardino County proclaimed a local emergency on March 10, 2020.
For nearly two years, San Bernardino County has taken response actions to help mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 including providing large scale testing and vaccination services. San Bernardino County has developed many best practices to better manage COVID-19 and help ensure public safety. Despite sustained efforts, COVID-19 continues to put a strain on the EMS System in San Bernardino County. Paramedic staffing shortages resulting from delayed training programs due to pandemic restrictions continue to be an ongoing challenge. Disruption in supply chains have resulted in ambulance manufacturing delays impacting local providers ability to purchase additional transportation vehicles. The County’s largest emergency transport provider, American Medical Response has utilized out of State resources to help mitigate the staffing shortage. To continue to ensure public safety, it is imperative that First Responder agencies and ambulance transport providers maximize the number of available resources to maintain the ability to meet the anticipated emergency transportation needs of the County.
Pursuant to Government Code section 8630(c), the Board shall review the need for continuing the local emergency at least once every 60 days until the Board terminates the local health emergency.
PROCUREMENT
Not applicable.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Julie Surber, Principal Assistant County Counsel, 387-5455) on February 25, 2022; Finance (Carl Lofton, Administrative Analyst, 387-5404) on February 25, 2022; and County Finance and Administration (Robert Saldana, Deputy Executive Officer, 387-5423) on February 25, 2022.