http://tinyurl.com/by2esMay 25, 2005 03:35 PM US Eastern Timezone
Douglas E. Goldman, Entrepreneur and Emergency Physician Announces
Resignation from Fire Commission; Chairman of Stern Grove Festival Resigns
from Commission in Protest
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 25, 2005--Douglas E. Goldman, M.D.,
announced his immediate resignation today from the Fire Commission in
protest over the Commission's hasty approval of a reconfiguration of the
Emergency Medical Services (EMS) division of the Fire Department. He made
his announcement in front of San Francisco General Hospital, where he was
joined by his former colleague Rosemarie Fernandez-Pifer who was "released"
from her Commission post by the Mayor's Office last week.
"This is a Commission whose main job appears to be to protect the Fire
Department from scrutiny and to rubber stamp its attempts to avoid dealing
with criticism from the outside," said Goldman and Fernandez-Pifer.
Dr. Goldman, who is spearheading a privately financed renovation of Stern
Grove, said his decision to resign stems mainly from a March 24th Commission
hearing when he was interrupted during his period of inquiry. Instead, the
Commission's Chairman abruptly cut off Commission discussion and called for
a vote on the proposal after having been informed that Commissioner Clem
Clarke had asked to leave early. In response to this unusual action by the
Chair, Fernandez-Pifer attempted to table the EMS reconfiguration proposal
so that it could be studied further. Other than a special hearing about the
reconfiguration in November 2004, Dr. Goldman and Fernandez-Pifer said there
has never been a well publicized public hearing about the new EMS
reconfiguration that included other public stakeholders and the medical
community.
At the news conference Dr. Goldman and Fernandez-Pifer said that since the
EMS reconfiguration in 1997, the Fire Department has simply failed to accept
the fact that it is primarily a medical service provider. As a result, a
culture war has been waged within the Department, between the EMS and fire
suppression sides. Numerous reports have questioned why the Fire Department
spends a disproportionate amount of its budget on fire suppression when 70%
of its service calls are EMS related.
"The Office of the Controller, the Office of the Budget Analyst, and the
Civil Grand Jury have all raised these issues. How can so many government
agencies find fault with the Fire Department and the Commission never
concurs with even a fraction of the findings," said Goldman.
The newly approved EMS reconfiguration is another example of this kind of
obstructionist behavior, Fernandez-Pifer said, adding that "The
reconfiguration was ostensibly created to give paramedics 10-hours shifts
instead of the current 24-hour shifts they work today. But we can find no
evidence that any other aspects of the reorganization are warranted."
"There has been no cost analysis and no study of systems," added Dr.
Goldman. "For example, how will paramedics restock their ambulances, where
will they rest during their shifts? This new plan may end up costing
millions of dollars and accomplish very little."
"Rosemarie and I both feel this reorganization should be stopped until
further analysis can be completed," Goldman added. "But there is no reason
not to implement 10-hour shifts for paramedics in the interim. As an
emergency physician by training, I feel strongly that shorter shifts for
paramedics are a good idea and should be done immediately."
Goldman and Fernandez-Pifer ended the press conference by calling for a
series of reforms, including:
-- Halt the EMS reconfiguration to permit an independent professional
evaluation, with eventual input from the public and the medical community.
-- Conduct an independent audit of SFFD operations and finances.
-- Remove the current Commission and replace it with independently minded
individuals and those with medical expertise.
-- Make commission meetings more Accessible. (Meetings should be moved to
City Hall and televised.)
-- The media should pay more attention. (Local newspapers should assign a
reporter to cover public safety full time -- not just when a controversial
story breaks.)
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