Attempts to overhaul and possibly privatize the state's emergency medical system appear likely to fail this year after a legislative panel's full-throated endorsement of continued state police control of Maryland's medical helicopter program.
A 14-member House of Delegates study panel voted unanimously yesterday to recommend that state police maintain operation of the medevac fleet and that the aging helicopters be replaced at a pace faster than that proposed by Gov. Martin O'Malley.
The panel called for additional legislative scrutiny of the state EMS system. It also said the medevac system should pursue safety upgrades to its helicopters and higher levels of certification from the federal government and an independent accreditation agency.
Dr. Robert R. Bass, executive director of the state-administered EMS network, said he was "very pleased" that the panel concluded that the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems "should continue in our present configuration with improvements."
Del. John L. Bohanan Jr., the St. Mary's County Democrat who chaired the study group, said the panel's recommendations amount to a "strong, cohesive House position," and he dismissed the chances for a reform bill sponsored by Sens. John C. Astle, an Anne Arundel Democrat, and E. J. Pipkin, an Eastern Shore Republican. "I doubt we'll even see it," Bohanan said of their bill.
The EMS system, and in particular the police-operated helicopter program, have come under increased scrutiny since the fatal crash of a medevac helicopter in September, which followed a legislative audit criticizing the state police's fiscal management and helicopter fleet maintenance.
In light of that crash and other fatal accidents around the country, state medical officials have adopted new guidelines that have sharply decreased the number of helicopter flights. They are also considering reducing the number of medevac bases around the state from the current eight, which could shrink the size of the fleet.
In a last-minute addition, the panel added language to its report recommending that police use no more than seven bases and that the helicopter fleet eventually be reduced from 12 to at most 10 aircraft.
Bohanan said the panel's study "validates that the system is good ... and we're ready to make the investment for the next decades."
