EMS UPDATE | KEVIN GREENE, EMS/Health & Safety Director
Prioritizing Hospital Accountability and Retiree Behavioral Wellness
AB 40 (Ambulance Patient Offload Times/Delays)
Emergency Regulations Withdrawn
As CPF continues to prioritize the reduction of ambulance delays in California’s hospital emergency departments, challenges remain in implementing regulations mandated under Assembly Bill 40 (AB 40). The Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA) and the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) released emergency regulations in April 2025. After significant concerns were raised by stakeholders during the five-day public review period, EMSA withdrew the draft from consideration. We anticipate the release of a new draft in the coming months.
The purpose of AB 40 was to implement a process whereby Ambulance Patient Offload Times (APOT) can effectively be measured, and this measurement reflects the arrival of an ambulance at an emergency department, and when that patient is transferred to an emergency department gurney, bed, chair, etc., and the emergency department assumes responsibility for care of the patient. CPF felt the proposed emergency regulations lacked clarity on many elements of the statute to allow for effective implementation and requested additional time for public comment.
CPF will continue to ensure the implementing regulations adhere to the spirit of AB 40—and holding hospitals accountable for excessive wall times. CPF is committed to keeping stakeholders informed on the status of the regulations and the next steps. While we have seen significant improvements in APOT times in select jurisdictions—others continue to have excessive offload times. These delays not only stress our already overwhelmed EMS systems—but essentially provide a subsidy to hospitals as EMS personnel must maintain care while the patients sit in hospital emergency departments until formal transfer of care occurs.
Prioritizing Retiree Behavioral Health
The delegation at the 2024 CPF Convention unanimously approved a resolution directing the California Fire Service Behavioral Health Task Force (Task Force) to initiate a subcommittee to address the behavioral health needs of retirees and to research the issues and explore solutions to ensure retirees have the resources to transition from active duty to retirement. The subcommittee seeks to prepare resources including drafting minimum standards for fire agencies to address retirement planning and continued behavioral health for retirees, and guidelines for the provision of peer support to retirees. The subcommittee, chaired by retired OCFA member, Jeff Hughes, and Chair of the FIRESCOPE Behavioral Health Subcommittee, has begun its work and will provide updates to the full Task Force in 2025 and will make these draft minimum standards, policies and best practices available to the partner agencies of the Task Force.