The Santee Fire Department and the Lakeside Fire Protection District formed the Santee-Lakeside Emergency Medical Authority on Jan.1, assuming local control of ambulance services in their communities.
Though the name has changed, citizens of Santee, Lakeside, and unincorporated Bostonia continue to receive the same level of emergency ambulance services provided since 1975.
The dissolution of County Service Area 69, and formation of SLEMSA now allows the city of Santee and the Lakeside FPD to have more efficient implemented improvements in the delivery of Emergency Medical Services.
SLEMSA leadership’s top priority has been increasing ambulance service levels. The first of two additional ambulances were placed in service in Lakeside on May 12. This 12-hour Basic Life Support ambulance operates daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. to assist with peak volumes and a second 12-hour BLS ambulance will go into service in Santee on June 30. BLS ambulances are being placed into service to address the increasing call volume in the Santee and Lakeside communities.
Both fire departments have collectively had EMS calls service increase from 9,750 calls in 2011 to more than 14,000 in 2022. Though many responses require assistance from advance life support ambulances, about 50% of patients only require the need for BLS ambulances.
According to the Santee-Lakeside Emergency Medical Authority, these new resources are an asset to both communities, increasing the availability of higher acuity ALS-level ambulance services for critically ill or injured patients. Additional BLS units also assist with reducing ambulance responses, decreasing reliance from neighboring agencies.
