SANTA CLARITA VALLEY : Faster 911 Call System Scheduled

A plan to speed the routing of the Santa Clarita Valley’s 911 emergency calls will be implemented in April by the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services.

In addition, Palmdale-based Wilson Ambulance, which holds the county’s contract to serve both the Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys, will consider reinstating Santa Clarita Ambulance, which it fired Oct. 4 as its subcontractor for 911 service in the Santa Clarita Valley, said Kathryn Barger, health deputy to Supervisor Mike Antonovich.

Representatives of both companies conferred with Antonovich and Barger on Wednesday at Santa Clarita City Hall in an attempt to resolve the companies’ long-running dispute over alleged problems in relaying emergency calls in the Santa Clarita Valley. The Department of Health Services will try to help both sides resolve their dispute within two weeks, Barger said.

Tim Jorgensen, contracts administrator for Santa Clarita Ambulance, had alleged that flaws in the county’s and Wilson’s dispatch procedures delayed responses to medical emergencies. Jorgensen had urged the county to change its procedure so that his company could bypass Wilson’s dispatchers in Palmdale and receive 911 calls directly from the county.