HomeMy WebLinkAboutBNSF Grant Memo 12J12j2Q17
aear City Council Members, Mayor,&Ciry Attorney:
1 apologize that 1 cannot appear in person tonight,unfortunate#y my work schedule prevented
this from happening,
This letter is in regards ta the EMS Bicycle grant that we had recently applied for. Burlingtan
Narthern-Santa Fe was generous enough to fund this project of ours, pending approval of the counciL
The$5,236 will provide the ambulance service with two purpose-built bicycles for emergency response
use.This funding covers the total costs of the bicydes, including their lights,sirens,and pannier halders
for equipment.The city will not incur a cost for the bicycles,except#a stock them with medica!supplies,
which will be na different than stocking`jump-kits"for other events.7he only other cost required is
paniers(saddle bags that hold equipment),but we have a private citizen who is danating those to our
department.
Praviding public safety from atop a bicycle is not a new and radical concept. Bicycle respanse,at
least from the police,has been happening since the 1800s. In the 1980s,the Seattle Police Department
created a unit within their department specifically for praviding police service from atop a bicycle.This
cancept rapidly spread into the emergency medical services industry throughout the 1990s and holds a
permanent spat within many departments worldwide. Bicycle response in aur department wauld be
used primarily at large events where mass amounts of people are present.Our Independence Day �
celebration wauld be a great example of this. However,we intend to use the bicycles for response
during many other events,such as football hame games,races&sporting events hosted in Laurel,
various parades,weekly farmer's market in City Center,and Rock the Black parties.
Some of#he problems that we run into,especially in the large events,in maneuvering an
emergency vehicie through the crowds to the patient.When putting our responders an bicycles,they
can rapidly cut through hordes of people and access the patient quickly.The bicycies carry a11 life-saving
medical equipment, including a defibriilator,bandaging suppties,and airway management equipment.
Using the bicycles,we are able to slash our respanse times during events,and rapidly deiiver life-saving
care to the patient while awaiting an ambulance to arrive.
Another reasan bicycle respanse is helpfut at these events is the community relationships we
are able ta develop with the citizens.We are now at eye-level with the citizens we serve and are abie to
answer their quest'rons and show them a little bit abaut the wark we do.As many of you are aware,our
department needs pubiic trust mare than ever right now,and 1 deeply feel in my heart that this pragram
will do a lot ta strengthen the re{ationships we have with the citizens.
Currently,there is no mandated training or standards for EMS agencies in the United States.
There are training programs available,but nobody is legally required to attend them to utilize the
bicyctes. Essentially,if you can ride a bike,you can partieipate. Police Qepartments have specialized
training they attend due to the much mare tactica! use they get from their bikes.There are numerous
grant opportunities available to not only send some of our crew to instructar schaal,but also to help us
set up a training program focally,We wauld be one of the only agencies in the entire state providing
bicycle response.Our neighbaring agency,American Medical Response,daes not require any of their
employees attend training.They currently have a program simiiar ta what our pragram models.
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The ather cost to the program is uniforms.Our regular uniforms are not designed for riding a
bicycle,so we would need specialized uniforms ta keep us cool and moisture free.C?bviously we wouid
require a bicycle helmet. EMS providers who desire to participate in the program need ta#und their own
uniform costs, if they choose to get specialized uniforms.We have some rather exclusive deats with
uniform providers that wiN prauide uniforms at a discounted rate.They wiii need to pravide their awn
helmet.
This program is a great opportunity for our EMS praviders and our citizens.We can impact the
public greater by being on the streets with them rather than just driving by.This is also a healthy way for
aur providers to get out and connect with the peaple we serve.Our department would love to
implement this program.We ask that the Cauncil approve the grant so we can proceed. 1 hope!have
answered your questions.Thank you for your attentian to this matter.
Regards,
Riley Hutchens, NREMT
Assistant Training Officer&Safety Officer,Ambuiance Service
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