If all goes according to plan, paramedics could be responding on fire engines in Lathrop and the surrounding area by the Fourth of July.

According to Lathrop Manteca Fire Chief Gene Neely, the district is currently in the process of negotiating with San Joaquin County’s EMS Director about the steps necessary to begin advanced life support protocols within their boundaries – giving first responders who are certified as paramedics the ability to deliver life-saving drugs and perform more intensive interventions such as intubation and starting an IV line.

Neely said it would be the logical next step after a year in which his firefighters saw their scope of practice expand to include the ability to provide specific life-saving drugs and test the blood sugar of suspected diabetics.

“Right now, we already have the enhanced skills of using epinephrine if somebody is having an allergic reaction and Narcan if we have an overdose – we had our first successful use of Narcan last month – and this is the next step,” Neely said. “Everything is moving in the direction of an ALS program, and will hopefully provide better outcomes for our residents.”

While the use of epinephrine and Narcan has been standard for some time, the ability for firefighters to use glucometers to test the blood sugar of patients they interact with is a very new development – something that the district spent months planning and training for in expectation that the policy would be in place by the end of the year.

After purchasing the meters themselves and training firefighters on the proper use of them, the district deployed them on all fire engines on December 15.

Neely said that the district has already lined up a medical doctor that is willing to be the overseer of the district’s narcotics distribution and the medication necessary for paramedic service, and is working on a plan to secure them – likely through lockboxes that are installed on engines and maintained routinely by a company that updates the stock.

The implementation of a continuous quality improvement program is also in the works for the district, and the transition to electronic medical records and reporting will make it easier for the county to monitor the way the program is going.

Currently Manteca and Lathrop are the only cities in the South County that don’t have ALS through the fire department – Tracy has paramedics on fire engines, and Ripon operates its own ambulance service. If approved, Lathrop Manteca will join the ranks, which also includes Stockton, and the groundwork could pave the way for other agencies to follow suit.

Through Measure C – the one-cent sales tax increase approved by voters in 2012 which guarantees 40 percent to the fire district – Neely said he is able to handle all of the hiring necessary to make the program work.

“Right now we have three paramedics and I would need to hire a fourth to get the program off the ground,” Neely said. “But we also have four guys that we’re going to send to school to get the certification when we find a program close to us that will make it easy for them to tackle.

“Right now things are looking really good, and we’re hopeful that this will be done within the next year.”

To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.