Emergency Medical Services (EMS)
The Emergency Medical Services Division is responsible for providing emergency medical care to the citizens. The division provides both advanced life support (ALS) and basic life support (BLS) services. Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) and Paramedics provide immediate medical assessment, evaluation, and treatment. They transport patients to Kittitas Valley Hospital or out-of-area facilities for continued treatment, as needed. The district must provide highly trained, skilled personnel and adequate vehicles and equipment to accomplish the division’s mission. Emergency medical vehicles and equipment must be maintained and upgraded to meet the ever-changing technologies of medical science. Vehicles must not only be equipped for the safety of the district’s patients and personnel, but must also be equipped with a wide array of medical equipment such as defibrillators, cardiac monitors, oxygen, and many other instruments needed for the successful treatment of the critically ill and traumatized patient. EMS transport billing and patient account service are provided by an outside billing service, Systems Design. However, KVFR still provides customer service related to ambulance questions and concerns.
KVFR provides the EMS mission to our community through the use of user fees. Property tax is utilized for fire suppression, fire prevention, and hazardous materials response. The EMS enterprise is supported through no taxes. Many other communities have an EMS Levy that assists in the funding of the EMS mission. Our Community has never had an EMS Levy.
Ambulance Transport Fees
Because the cost of providing EMS services is partially subsidized by property taxes, residents of the district are charged a lesser rate than non-residents. To be considered a resident of the district, the patient’s residence must be within Kittitas County Fire District No. 2 boundaries.
| AMBULANCE TRANSPORT FEES |
| Description | Code | Mileage | Residents | Non-Residents |
| Basic Life Support - Non Emergent | BLS - NE | $22 per mile | $ 808.50 | $ 1,028.50 |
| Basic Life Support - Emergent | BLS | $22 per mile | $ 831.60 | $ 1,094.50 |
| Advanced Life Support | ALS | $22 per mile | $ 1,085.70 | $ 1,419.00 |
| Advanced Life Support - Level 2 | ALS - 2 | $22 per mile | $ 1,188.00 | $ 1,578.50 |
Event EMS Standby Fees
Different organizations hold events during which they either are required to or prefer to have emergency medical staff on-site during the event. KVFR has fulfilled such requests on movie sets and at sporting events such as football games, rodeos, triathlons, and roller derbies.
Fees are charged depending on the personnel and apparatus requested. A minimum of one hour is charged. Additional hours are charged with the time calculated to the next highest 15-minute increment.
Every effort is made to fulfill BLS requests with non-career staff, but when those resources are not available, the district must cover the cost of having to send career staff members to the event by charging the hourly cost of salaries and benefits for the entire increment of time the career staff is paid for.
The cost of standby services at Central Washington University (CWU) football games is included in the fire protection contract in place with CWU. However, other events at CWU, which require EMS standby services, may be charged for after review by KVFR staff and the Board of Fire Commissioners.
Fees for special community events where a large percentage of those gathered are citizens of the District are usually and customarily waived at the discretion of the Board of Fire Commissioners. High school sporting events and the Kittitas County Fair are examples of events held by not-for-profit organizations where there are large gatherings of the community. The district feels it is prudent to have emergency response personnel present in the interest of community safety.
| EVENT EMS STANDBY FEES |
| Description | Personnel Hourly Rate |
| Staff on Standby without a medic unit | *Loaded Rate |
| More than 2 staff with a medic unit | *Loaded Rate Plus State Chiefs Rate |
| BLS request fulfilled by 2 non-career staff with medic unit | $40 Plus State Chiefs Rate |
| BLS request fulfilled by 2 career staff with medic unit | *Loaded Rate Plus State Chiefs Rate |
| ALS request fulfilled by 2 career staff with medic unit | *Loaded Rate Plus State Chiefs Rate |
*Loaded Rate refers to the hourly cost of salaries and benefits for each of the personnel present for the entire time they are on the clock to fulfill the event request. State Chiefs Rate refers to the cost of the apparatus.
Questions About A Bill?
Please contact Administrative Specialist Megan Baker at 509-933-7234 or bakerm@kvfr.org
You can review the Privacy Practices by clicking on the links below. Patient Privacy Notice (Word)
Patient Privacy Notice (PDF)
