They're bigger and brighter: new ambulances will roll through the streets of Santa Clara County, beginning July 1. A national company named Rural/Metro will now be the emergency services provider in the South Bay.
The new rigs will carry the seal of Santa Clara County, since the county is overseeing the new contract.
"There is a tremendous amount of technology that Rural Metro will be bringing into the system, with the new systems starting up on July first," said Travis Kusman, General Manager for the local operation.
The technology will allow paremedics to deliver real-time patient medical information from the field, to the emergency room.
"It allows physicians and nurses to expect that critical patient information at the hospital," said Kusman. "So as soon as they walk in the door, they'll already have that vital information provided to them."
There are 55 ambulances in the Rural/Metro fleet in Santa Clara County
The ambulances will also carry a secondary siren, one that emits a vibration effect in case, for some reason, a driver or pedestrian does not hear the primary siren.
Local
And Rural/Metro rehired most of the paramedics who work for the current provider, A.M.R.
But two of those EMT's emailed NBC Bay Area, saying they are worried and upset about their pay with Rural/Metro.
In one email, Gerald Thompson wrote, "EMT's are losing a day of pay that will add up quickly..."
Rural Metro said it agreed to pay its new workers the same, and in some cases more than A.M.R, and the company says it is doing just that.
Rural/Metro is the second largest emergency serices provider in the nation.
