The History of the Ross Valley Paramedic Authority
The Ross Valley Paramedic Authority (RVPA) was established in
December 1982 as a Joint Powers Authority (JPA) with eight member
agencies. Discussions began in 1980, at a time when the idea of
paramedic services was being implemented elsewhere in the County and
across the nation.
San Rafael, Novato, Southern Marin, and Marin County FD’s had all
started fire department based advanced life support systems in the
recent past, and “…Ross Valley was the last pocket needing service,”
said Larkspur Fire Chief William Lellis, retired, one of the original
RVPA board members. “It was an easy sell to the councils, because of
what was going on around us and beyond. The TV Show Emergency had
recently filmed an episode at the former Hamilton Air Force Base, and it
was great PR for the value of Paramedics.”
“As a mayor of Fairfax I had been pushing to expand and upgrade our
Fire/Medical response with accredited and licensed paramedics as the
figures showed the largest percentage of our runs, by far, were medical
aids, not fires. In 1980 I knew Fairfax could never afford paramedics
24/7, but thought we might throw in with other cities and towns in the
Ross Valley as a way of funding it by sharing the costs. I got together
with then Fairfax Fire Chief, George Hettema, and we called a meeting
with representatives from the various towns and fire districts to see if
a cooperative agreement to share paramedic services would work,” said
Frank Egger, one of the founding board members.
Paramedics Joel Chandler and Mike Giannini review their scores on the Paramedic test.
Members were the Towns of Corte Madera, Fairfax, Ross, and San Anselmo, the City of
Larkspur, the Kentfield and Sleepy Hollow Fire Protection Districts, and the
County of Marin (with respect to certain unincorporated “pockets” in the
Ross Valley). The RVPA was formed to provide free paramedic service and
ambulance transportation to the nearest hospital for Advanced Life Support
(ALS) patients. RVPA was not intended to transport Basic Life Support
patients (BLS), i.e., in non-life-threatening situations.
A private ambulance provider, United Ambulance, was contracted to transport
BLS patients for a fee.
A ballot measure for public funding, Measure “A”, easily passed in each
community on June 6, 1983. The measure required two-thirds voter approval,
and won with 89.1% in favor. The initial tax was $25 per household, and the
first annual budget was estimated at $350,000. Service began on January 1,
1984, and a dedication ceremony was held at the Ross Fire Station on January
28, 1984. The first call was for a motorcycle accident in Kentfield.
The first ambulance used, on loan from the Southern Marin Paramedic Authority.
The RVPA ambulance was stationed in Ross due to its central location. The
Leonard and Beryl Buck Foundation provided a $120,000 grant to purchase an
ambulance and create a “dry period” reserve to cover expenses between when
the RVPA’s initial tax was levied and when it was collected and disbursed.
An ambulance was leased from Southern Marin Paramedic Authority for the
first few months until the newly built RVPA ambulance arrived from Ohio in
March of 1984. It was dedicated in memory of Jay Ingels, a driving force in
obtaining paramedic service in the Ross Valley.
Six paramedics were hired from an applicant pool of 125 – Joel Chandler,
Michael Giannini, Paul Hager, Steve Oman, Gary Petretto, and Erin Reed. Ron
Alves was hired as the Paramedic Supervisor, and Corte Madera Fire Chief
Robert Shearer served as the Staff Advisor. Jerrold R. Gonce was the
Executive Officer, and Linda Brandelius served as the Secretary. “Early
challenges included finding our way around the Ross Valley. All six
paramedics and myself came from outside of Marin. While all had plenty of
paramedic clinical experience, the Ross Valley and the Marin system was new.
Once all personnel were hired, went through their certification process' and
hospital clinical time, we had roughly 30 days to get in service,” said then
RVPA Paramedic Supervisor Ron Alves.
The cover of the program from the dedication ceremony held in January of 1984 at the Ross FD.
Paramedics initially worked a 24-hour shift with a 56-hour average workweek.
Compensation ranged from $1,552 to $2,294 a month. Paramedics also started
receiving firefighter training that first year, and eventually were
designated formally as Paramedic Firefighters. In turn, the Paramedics
served as instructors for ongoing training for all career Firefighters in
the member agencies to Emergency Medical Technician Level 1. “The best part
was working with the firefighters that were already established in the Ross
Valley. What a great group of people. They were all very accepting of us and
the program,” said Mike Giannini, who today serves as the Battalion Chief in
charge of MCFD’s EMS program that manages RVPA’s field services by contract.
In 1984, the RVPA chose to contract with the County of Marin for paramedic
service, for several reasons. There was increasing difficulty with obtaining
medical malpractice insurance, and potential financial challenges from the
passage of Proposition 13. Also, the RVPA was the only non-fire department
based Advanced Life Support (ALS) service in Marin County. Novato, San
Rafael, Marin County, and Southern Marin fire agencies ALS services had all
been established previously and were working well.
The second page of the program for the dedication ceremony held in January of 1984 at the Ross FD.
Most of the RVPA Paramedics transferred to the Marin County Fire Department
(MCFD). The MCFD staffed the service beginning on December 1, 1985, and has
done so ever since. The RVPA’s initial maximum tax rate was $25 per home. In
1991, voters approved an increase in the maximum tax rate to $30 per living
unit.
In 1997, following their concerns regarding delayed service to the southern
end of the response area, Corte Madera notified the RVPA that they would
start their own paramedic and transport service. Corte Madera launched its
service in 1998, and today works closely with RVPA through a boundary drop
agreement. This means that the two Paramedic Transport ambulances generally
respond with the closest unit and back each other up.
In 2001, the RVPA funded paramedic training for four Ross Valley Fire
Department (RVFD) firefighters to enable the first-response engine in
Fairfax to deliver ALS Engine Company paramedic service. ALS transport
service continued to be provided by the RVPA, usually arriving after the
first fire engine. In 2002-3, the RVPA funded paramedic training for five
additional RVFD firefighters. This expanded the fire engine-based paramedic
service to San Anselmo and Sleepy Hollow. The program was subsequently
enlarged to include the Larkspur Fire Department. The RVPA paid for the
incremental cost of providing paramedic service.
The third page of the program for the dedication ceremony held in January of 1984 at the Ross FD.
In 2006, the RVPA commissioned a strategic assessment which concluded that the
transport service provided to the seven jurisdictions by a single ambulance
stationed in Ross, together with emergency response provided by fire
engine-based paramedic-firefighters was an appropriate level of service for
the JPA member communities. The boundary drop relationship with Corte Madera
FD further improved the cooperative services for the community.
Only a few of the original six Paramedics and Supervisor still work in the
overall system. Steve Oman worked for about six months and made a career
change; Gary Petretto died of a heart attack in his 30’s; Erin Reed became a
flight nurse and was killed in a helicopter crash in Washington state in
2005; Paul Hager is a Battalion Chief with Corte Madera FD; Joel Chandler is
a Captain in Marin County FD; Ron Alves is a Captain in Marin County
FD; and Mike Giannini is a Battalion Chief managing the Marin County FD EMS
program and serving as the public information officer for MCFD.
The RVPA JPA reached the 25-year milestone in December of 2007, and is an
example of a very successful, cooperative public partnership that provides
an essential service in the Ross Valley. “I am very proud of the dedication
of all those associated with the JPA. From the Board members and
firefighters to the newer medics, everyone wants excellent patient care to
be the priority,” said Mike Giannini.
Today’s Medic 18 is based at the Ross Fire Department station.