EMS System
To find information about the EMS Agency’s policies, procedures, committees and more, please click on the links below:
Policies & Procedures
Lights & Sirens Newsletter
Emergency Medical Care Committee
Ambulance Contract Compliance Review
EMS Agency Staff
Policies & Procedures
Lights & Sirens Newsletters
To read the latest issues of the EMS Agency newsletter, please click here and explore our Archive.
Emergency Medical Care Committee
The County Board of Supervisors has established and maintains the Emergency Medical Care Committee (EMCC)
under the authority of Section 1797.270 and 1797.272 of the Health and Safety Code. The EMCC functions as
an advisory committee to both the County Board of Supervisors and the EMS Agency on matters pertaining to the
delivery of emergency medical services. The EMCC is composed of 21 voting members, three of whom are designated
by position: (1) the County Fire Chief or his/her designee; and (2) the local Director of the Office of Emergency
Services and the County Health Officer.
The Board of Supervisors has appointed a member from the County Board and each Supervisor has appointed one
public representative. The remaining positions are filled according to the following distribution: two emergency
room physicians; two ambulance company representatives, each of whom shall represent a separate and distinct ambulance
service; one emergency services educator; one law enforcement representative; one hospital representative; one ED nurse; two
emergency medical technician-one or paramedic; and one California Highway Patrol representative. The Director of Public
Health and the Medical Director of the EMS Agency serve as ex-officio members of the committee.
Meetings are held a minimum of four times a year, at a time and place specified by the Chairman. The EMCC can convene,
at its discretion, any sub-committees or task forces as deemed necessary to conduct the business of the committee. In
addition, the EMCC has four standing sub-committees: (1) the EMS Assessment Sub-committee; (2) the Ambulance Review
Board; (3) the Policy and Procedure Sub-committee and (4) the EMS for Children Sub-committee. While EMCCs are
advisory in nature, the agency does not move proposals to the Board of Supervisors without a confirming recommendation
from the EMCC.
Ambulance Contract Compliance Review
One of the primary functions of the EMS Agency is the oversight of the performance-based ground
ambulance contract. Riggs Ambulance Service (RAS) is an exclusive provider for the county and is required
to submit monthly reports describing its compliance with the requirements of its contract. As part of its
contract, we have established the Merced County Contract Compliance Committee (M4C), made up of various
EMS system participants, to assist the agency with this monthly review. We display the findings and recommendation
of the M4C on a quarterly basis for the review of any and all interested parties.
To view a table representing the current Response Time Compliance Data, as reviewed and recommended by the Merced County
Contract Compliance Committee, please click here.
To view a map of the Response Time zones, please click here.
EMS Agency Staff
To view the Monthly Staff On-Call Schedule, please click here.
Chuck Baucom, EMS Administrator and BT/HRSA Coordinator, is responsible for the overall EMS Agency operation, supervises all staff and coordinates all program areas with the Director of Public Health, the EMS Agency Medical Director and the EMS community. Chuck was a Commissioner on the California Commission on EMS from 1997 to 2006 and is on the Board of Directors of the EMS Administrators' Association of California. Chuck has been actively involved and employed in EMS for more than 33 years. Chuck is also responsible for administration of the Health Department's Bioterrorism Program and HRSA Grant Program, providing funding and equipment to assist the hospitals and clinics in disaster preparedness and response. Contact Chuck at cbaucom@co.merced.ca.us or (209) 381-1255.
Jim Andrews, M.D., is the Medical Director for the Agency and is responsible for overall medical control for the EMS System. Dr. Andrews is residency-trained and board certified in emergency medicine and is an associate professor of emergency medicine at University Medical Center, Fresno. Dr. Andrews is also the Medical Director for the Central California EMS Agency (Fresno, Kings, Madera and Tulare counties). Dr. Andrews is a past President of the Emergency Medical Directors Association of California. Contact Dr. Andrews at jeaems@aol.com.
Linda Diaz, R.N., Specialty Services Nurse, joined the Agency in March 2003. She has worked within Merced County for better than 14 years and was the previous Base Hospital Liaison for Merced County. Linda's substantial experience includes emergency department nurse, critical care nursing, nursing and registry activities within a trauma center and various activities related to injury prevention and training. Linda is certified in TNCC, PALS, ENPC, CEN, ACLS, MICN, BCC and various other nursing credentials. Linda oversees the trauma program and quality improvement activities and is the lead person for the Agency's prevention efforts. Contact Linda at linda.diaz@co.merced.ca.us or (209) 381-1258.
Ron Duran, EMS Specialist, is responsible for all disaster planning activities and is the Bioterrorism Lead for the Health Department. Ron has better than 20 years of experience in EMS and coordinates all planning activities with the state and OES Region V. Contact Ron at rduran@co.merced.ca.us or (209) 381-1260.
Julie Kennedy, EMT-P, EMS Specialist, has been working in EMS for more than five years and began her career in Arkansas. She and her family moved to California in 2005, and she has been working part-time as a paramedic locally and in Fresno County. Julie is responsible for ambulance provider contract compliance, including medical dispatch center audits, ambulance inspections, response time compliance and related activities. Contact Julie at Julie.kennedy@co.merced.ca.us or (209) 381-1256.
