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The Kansas City Kansas Fire Department has been active in providing Emergency Medical Service (EMS) in our community for decades. KCKFD launched the second Advanced Life Support (ALS) ambulance service in the state of Kansas in 1974. That service, known as K.A.R.E. (Kansas City KS Aid-Rescue-Emergency) in conjunction with BLS first responders and private ambulance companies, provided service to Kansas City, KS until 1995. In August of 1995, KCKFD became the largest provider of ALS first response in the state of Kansas and contracted with a private company to provide all ambulance transports. That contract ended July 1, 2004 and KCKFD resumed providing ALS and BLS ambulance service to the city in the form of a Fire-Based EMS system. Our ambulances respond to both emergency and non-emergency requests for medical assistance and transportation.
The KCKFD EMS system includes Firefighter/EMTs and Firefighter/Paramedics operating from fire apparatus and ambulances. All personnel operate in a cross-trained/dual-role capacity to provide both fire suppression and EMS. KCKFD currently staffs 9 ALS ambulances around the clock with up to 3 additional cross-staffed ambulances available to be placed into service at a moment’s notice when the EMS system demand increases. Each day, KCKFD provides 22 fire apparatus that also respond to medical emergencies to provide medical assistance on an emergency scene in less than four minutes on average. The first responder/fire suppression response system includes 15 Pumper companies, and 7 Aerial apparatus (Quint or Truck companies). KCKFD ambulances arrive on an emergency scene in less than six minutes on average.
The EMS Division is managed by an Assistant Chief of EMS and a Battalion Chief of EMS who report to the Deputy Chief of Emergency Operations Corps. Additionally, EMS Supervisors provide daily on-shift direction for the EMS Division. Our clinical performance and documentation is retrospectively reviewed and tracked by our Quality Assurance/Quality Improvement (QA/QI) Manager who works directly with our Medical Director to measure system and provider clinical performance. Our Medical Director is contracted to provide system clinical oversight and also oversees the medical care provided by our personnel. KCKFD EMS Training Instructors provide continuing education hours for the department so that our personnel can maintain their Kansas Board of EMS EMT and Paramedic certifications. KCKFD medical protocols are ultimately approved by the local Medical Society each year.
KCKFD continues to evolve through improved clinical and operational procedures and using the most up-to-date medical equipment. KCKFD Paramedics have been documenting in an electronic patient care record (ePCR) system since January 8, 2008. KCKFD works closely with the area hospitals to identify patients suffering from a traumatic event, a stroke, a heart attack (STEMI), or a cardiac arrest. Our goal is to transport a patient to definitive treatment at the most appropriate destination as soon as possible. Our Paramedics can acquire a 12-lead ECG on-scene and are trained to interpret the ECG. This combined with early notification to the receiving hospital saves valuable minutes in the Emergency Room or Cath Lab for patients experiencing a STEMI. We can also transmit the 12-lead ECG to the receiving hospital from the scene or during transport.
Your privacy is very important to us. Our Notice of Privacy Practices document outlines the ways in which we use your Protected Health Information and the cases in which we disclose this information to authorized parties. If you have any questions after reading our Notice of Privacy Practices, please contact the department’s HIPAA compliance officer: (913) 573-5550.