Morrow County Administrator Matthew Jensen listens Feb. 21, 2024, to county residents offer public comments at the Morrow County Board of Commissioners meeting in Irrigon. During the May 1, 2024, meeting, Jensen presented four possible sites for the new county courthouse.

IRRIGON — During the Morrow County Board of Commissioners meeting March 20, County Administrator Matt Jensen offered a timeline to decide on the county’s official ambulance service provider for the next five years.

If the timeline follows the quickest route, the county could have an approved ambulance service plan effective April 18. Then, all it would need to do is contract each of the three areas in the plan to an initial provider.

Jensen said the county received final comments March 15 from the Oregon Health Authority and is now preparing the final, polished version of the plan. Then, the ordinance adoption process can begin March 25 with the posting of notification of the ordinance. A few days later, there will be publication of that notification.

On April 3, the commissioners will have a public hearing and offer a first reading of the ordinance. At least 13 days later, on April 17, the county board can host a second reading. At that point, commissioners may adopt the ordinance and begin accepting proposals to provide service.

Typically, there is a 90-day period before an ordinance goes into effect. During the meeting, the commissioners indicated they might be interested in bypassing the 90-day wait as the issue is so contentious within the county.

As part of the process to select a provider, the commissioners can appoint an advisory board. They directed Jensen to contact each city in the county to get a representative for the committee who is not affiliated with either of the two providers expected to offer a proposal, the Morrow County Health District and the Boardman Fire Rescue District.

Jensen also suggested finding an emergency medical services responder from either Umatilla or Gilliam county for the committee to offer nonpartisan expertise on the proposals. If the committee can be formed by early April, then it’s possible that the provider could be selected as soon as mid-May, just a few weeks after the county starts receiving proposals.

Concerns about care

Regardless of what might happen over the next four weeks or so, the Boardman Fire Rescue District is offering interim emergency response services.

It has been more than a year since the commissioners started examining the ambulance service plan and began rewriting it according to their understanding of Oregon law.

The county started receiving interim ambulance service after a 90-day notice to vacate services given by former provider Morrow County Health District ended without a solution to keep those services going. Both sides have critiqued the other’s requirements to extend services.

Residents have offered criticism of the process and the interim provider in person and online. Since March 12, when Boardman Fire took over services across the county, some residents have raised concerns the new provider has not met the same level of care as the former.

Boardman Fire initially was not able to fully staff an ambulance based in Irrigon at all times. Instead, the staffed ambulance was in Irrigon from 6 a.m. until 6 p.m. and in Boardman from 6 p.m. until 6 a.m. due to lack of overnight housing in Irrigon.

During the March 20 commissioners meeting, Irrigon resident Phil Rand said at 83 years old he’s at risk of a heart attack or stroke, and a 15-minute response time could mean the difference of life or death. In previous years when he’s had medical emergencies, he said, he’s had a response time of about three minutes.

“That’s unacceptable,” he said of the change in overnight wait time. “We are the second-largest city in a county that is almost twice the size of Rhode Island, and I can’t imagine they’d be sitting in Rhode Island waiting for 15 to 20 minutes for an ambulance service because the personnel have to come from another town.”

But starting March 22, Boardman Fire was slated to offer full-time coverage in Irrigon. Jensen announced Boardman Fire had found a two-bedroom house in Irrigon for responders to stay in during their 48-hour shifts, and is renting it on a month-to-month basis. This will match what had been presented to the public as what interim service would consist of.

“That delay in response time will be shrunk down to a matter of single-digit minutes,” Jensen said. “Ambulance response will be fully covered here, Boardman and Heppner as was previously done by Morrow County Health District — a fully staffed ambulance at all three locations, a second ambulance available if needed.”