By Bill Carey
EMS1
FORT WORTH, Texas — Fort Worth city leaders unanimously voted to have the fire department take over ambulance provider MedStar.
City Council members stated this decision has been in progress since September 2023, emphasizing it’s not a sudden choice, FOX 4 reported.
“I want to make sure the clear message sent to everyone is that the public should see no disruption in any way shape or form in service delivery,” Fort Worth Fire Chief Jim Davis said.
MedStar, the city’s longtime EMS provider, will be dissolved, with ambulance services transitioning to the Fort Worth Fire Department.
MedStar had served Fort Worth and a dozen Tarrant County cities for nearly 40 years. It will now see over 400 employees become civil service employees.
Council member Carlos Flores, chair of the EMS ad hoc council committee, noted that MedStar struggled to remain economically sustainable.
“Let me be perfectly frank. The landscape of EMS services has changed drastically. It is no longer sustainable. We want to commend MedStar and its leadership and its rank in file for doing a tremendous job to date,” Flores said. “They have been fighting an uphill battle. They ran out of financial runway, but they did not run out of dedication.”
The transition is expected to take between 12 and 18 months.