02-09-01: PURPOSE:

Trauma involved in medical emergency situations results in severe risk to life and health. In a rural county such as Canyon County it is critical to the public health, safety and welfare that coordinated, quality ambulance and emergency medical assistance be available promptly. In November 1977, a group of concerned citizens filed a petition, pursuant to Idaho Code section 31-3908, requesting that an ambulance district be established. The board of commissioners of Canyon County established the Canyon County ambulance district which has continued to serve the ambulance and emergency medical needs of the whole county.

Such needs are served by the equipment and personnel of the Canyon County ambulance district, by a network of quick response units and by volunteer ambulance services. In the years since the Canyon County ambulance district was first established, the population of Canyon County has increased dramatically. In addition to its continued rural nature, the county has become an integral part of the industrial development of southwest Idaho and serves as a critical link in the transportation corridor which ties Boise and Ada County to eastern Oregon. During this time there have been new developments in emergency communications and medical techniques. The Idaho board of medicine and the emergency medical service bureau of the Idaho department of health and welfare have established standards for licensing and certification of equipment and personnel. Canyon County is now served by an enhanced 911 emergency dispatch system. As these developments have occurred, it has become even more important to maintain coordination of the ambulance and emergency medical services available to the county's residents. (Ord. 03-013, 12-11-2003)