The Fort Worth City Council has approved a plan to transition emergency medical services from MedStar to the Fort Worth Fire Department. The vote came after a task force studied several options for emergency medical services.
MedStar has been the EMS provider for Fort Worth and several other cities in Tarrant County since 1986. However, the organization has been under financial pressure in the past few years. Leaders have cited changing Medicare laws and decreases in the reimbursement rates from insurance companies as two of the factors.
"The landscape of EMS services has changed drastically," Fort Worth City Council Member Carlos Flores said. "It is no longer sustainable".
Under the plan approved by the council, paramedics with MedStar will become Fort Worth Fire Department employees. Many cities in Texas use a similar Fire-EMS model.
"I believe the decision you are about to make is good for the citizens, it's good for the employees of MedStar, and it's good for the Fort Worth Fire Department," Fort Worth Professional Firefighters Association President Michael Glynn said.
The transition from an independent organization to a city-run department is expected to take between a year and 18 months.
"I'm very proud of our work today. It's been an immense amount of coordination and careful consideration, and the work really is just getting started at this point," Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker said.
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