The Las Cruces Fire Department (LCFD) has received a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity from the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission to provide ambulance service.
The Certificate was issued May 12, 2021. It will enable LCFD Squad Units to provide emergency ambulance service for three years, through May 2024, for sick, injured or deceased residents in Las Cruces or Doña Ana County. LCFD currently staffs three Squad units.
Ambulance services will also continue to be provided by American Medical Response (AMR). But LCFD’s Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity will enable LCFD to provide emergency medical transportation to a hospital when resources are otherwise not available.
“The Las Cruces Fire Department will still collaborate with Doña Ana County and the Doña Ana County Fire Department to improve service within the City and County,” Fire Chief Jason Smith said.
Las Cruces joins several New Mexico municipalities whose fire departments can provide emergency ambulance service. The service is expected to be particularly beneficial when the response time of an AMR ambulance to an incident is expected to be longer than 11 minutes or when AMR ambulances are unavailable within the City of Las Cruces. LCFD’s ambulance service will attempt to fill those gaps. LCFD employs 47 Paramedics, and 68 Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs), and 53 Advanced-EMTs.
The Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity will allow LCFD to recover costs for providing emergency medical transportation through a patient’s medical insurance. The funds collected will be used to expand the level of service provided by LCFD.