Salem City Council votes to end ambulance service contract with Falck Northwest

Salem City Council voted unanimously on Monday to switch from a private ambulance provider back to Salem Fire emergency services.

The city considered ending its contract with Falck Northwest and taking over emergency medical service response at the last regular meeting but tabled the vote until Monday to allow for more discussion.

Salem Fire Chief Mike Niblock said Falck, which has operated in the city since 2015, failed to meet their contractual requirement of 1,030 hours a week for the past year.

Niblock said in a report to council that Falck's failure to meet the contractual obligations has "caused the Fire Department to expend $3.3 million overtime dollars to subsidize the EMS System to ensure appropriate service delivery to the public, dating back to November 2021."

When Falck was selected as the provider, no city tax dollars were intended to support the private company.

The fire chief said his intention was to make the best decision to protect the safety of people in Salem. He also stressed the funding for the transition would not come from the general fund.

Falck blames severe staffing shortages for paramedics and contends Salem Fire will face the same workforce challenge.

During Monday's meeting, Falck Regional Managing Director David Patterson said efforts were already underway to hire more employees and improve coverage.

He urged for further delay on making the decision, saying the city needed to carefully consider the ramifications of the changes.

He said Falck has a fleet of 16 ambulances with 80 employees in Salem.

"If City Council approves this change, what will happen to the current and dedicated EMS professionals serving Salem?" Patterson asked in his testimony. "How will a hiring, selection, and onboarding process work?"

Niblock said the EMS staff would have the opportunity to apply with the city. And Mayor Chris Hoy stressed the importance of trying to retain as many of the EMS employees as possible.

After deliberations, councilor Micki Varney proposed amending the motion to require the fire department to submit an implementation plan to address concerns and establish an oversight committee to guide the transition.

With the vote, Salem Fire will become the exclusive ambulance provider on July 1, 2025.

For questions, comments and news tips, email reporter Whitney Woodworth at wmwoodworth@statesmanjournal.com, call 503-910-6616 or follow on Twitter at @wmwoodworth