King County to seek Medic One levy renewal this year

Measure to raise $1.1 billion over six years to fund emergency response program

D.J. Sonsteng Photography

D.J. Sonsteng Photography

King County voters will be asked in either August or November to approve a six-year levy re-authorization for the Medic One program that has provided high quality and advanced patient care since the 1970s.

The new proposal supports a six-year budget of $1.1 billion with a property tax levy rate of 27 cents per $1,000 assessed value. The current six-year levy expires at the end of 2019.

That rate would cost the owner of a $500,000 home about $135 per year, said Michele Plorde, King County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) division director, in a report Tuesday at a Kent City Council workshop. The owner of a $500,000 home is paying about $110 this year at a levy rate of 22 cents per $1,000 assessed value.

“We are not the cheapest way to go,” Plorde said. “But we have proven time and time again that we have some of the best cardiac arrest (survival rates) anywhere in the world.”

The agency had a 56 percent cardiac arrest survival rate in 2017, the latest numbers available.

“That’s 253 people that survived that were clinically dead at the time of arrival,” Plorde said.

Medic One serves a population of more than 2 million, covering 2,134 square miles. In 2017, the agency had more than 200,000 calls. The average response time was 7.7 minutes.

King County Medic One provides emergency care using specially equipped medic units. Medic One paramedics because of their training, continuing medical education and close relationship with the medical community, can use an extensive array of emergency medication, equipment and procedures, according to the county’s EMS website.

The King County Council will decide later this year whether to put the measure on the August primary ballot or the November general election ballot.

Once the ballot date is determined, the Kent City Council is expected to vote on a resolution to encourage voters to support the proposal.

“It may cost a little bit more, but it’s not always about the dollar to me. It’s more about the success,” said City Council President Bill Boyce. “You talk about your cardiac arrest of 56 percent, that’s a lot of lives that have been saved. I think it’s a good program.”

Medic One, in its 40th year, employs more than 50 paramedics as well as other support staff.

“They are very particularly trained,” Plorde said. “They are trained to be physicians out in the field. They get over 2,500 hours. At the state level, the requirement for paramedics is about 1,200 hours, so they get over double than what they require.”

The county works with 29 fire departments to deliver Medic One services.

“We’ve got everything from really dense urban populations all the way out to the mountains where we respond to folks who fell off a cliff to everything in between,” Plorde said.

Four 911 dispatch centers and initial fire department responses help determine when Medic One is needed for more specialized care.


Talk to us

Please share your story tips by emailing editor@kentreporter.com.

To share your opinion for publication, submit a letter through our website https://www.kentreporter.com/submit-letter/. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. (We’ll only publish your name and hometown.) Please keep letters to 300 words or less.

More in News

Crews on the SR 509 Completion Project in south King County install the framework for a new bus stop on SR 516, also known as Kent-Des Moines Road. The SR 509 Completion Project includes new or improved connections to existing transit centers and stops. COURTESY PHOTO, WSDOT
Eastbound SR 516 ramp to I-5 in Kent to close for 4 months

Drivers heading to northbound I-5 will use a temporary left turn lane

Courtesy Photo, King County
Tacoma boy, 17, charged with murder in November 2024 Kent case

Reportedly fired six shots into vehicle that killed 21-year-old SeaTac man on West Hill

t
CW series ‘Police 24/7’ features Kent indecent exposure case

Department also part of future TV episodes after crews responded on calls with police in 2024

t
Kent mobile home park fire displaces 7 people, kills family dog

Cause of accidental fire Feb. 6 in 24400 block of 64th Avenue S. remains under investigation

File Photo
Police arrest man at Kent hotel wanted for Alabama murder

Officers take fugitive into custody Feb. 5 for December 2024 shooting

Courtesy Photo, Kent School District
Seven candidates to interview for Kent School Board vacancy

School Board members scheduled to select replacement at Tuesday night, Feb. 11 special meeting

t
Kent man, 24, identified in city’s first homicide of 2025

Elijah J. Oceguera Bestgen fatally shot Feb. 7 in wooded area along Lake Fenwick Road South

t
Cancer Center is open and ready to serve South King County

Cancer patients can now receive treatment at the Valley Medical Center in Renton.

t
Kent officers part of CW ‘Police 24/7’ episode Thursday night, Feb. 6

Department also part of future episodes after CW crews responded on calls with police in 2024

An Amtrak train in Kent. FILE PHOTO, STEVE HUNTER, Kent Reporter
Pedestrian, 30, dies in Kent collision with Amtrak train | Update

Medical examiner identifies Kent man struck Wednesday evening, Feb. 5 near East Titus Street

t
NTSB rules pilot lost control in 2023 Kent small plane crash

Pilot and passenger were injured; pilot flew without receiving training in plane model’s operation

Courtesy Photo, King County
Man receives 35-year sentence for 2021 Kent killing of mother

Duane Bates borrowed pipe wrench from neighbor in beating death and later returned it