Board actions: Dec. 5, 2023 – Welcome to San Bernardino County

The Board of Supervisors took action to revolutionize the delivery of emergency medical care and transportation in most of San Bernardino County on Tuesday by unanimously approving an agreement with an alliance of local public fire agencies to provide basic and advanced life support, ground ambulance services, and interfacility and critical care transport services to the vast majority of county residents.

Medical transport services have been provided to most county residents by the privately owned American Medical Response, or AMR, and its predecessor companies since the late 1970s. Last year, the board decided to invite AMR and other potential providers to submit proposals for a new modern, high-performance and quality-driven contract through a competitive bidding process.

Proposals were submitted by AMR and Consolidated Fire Agencies, or CONFIRE, a joint powers authority made up of 15 county fire agencies that provide emergency medical services within their communities.

Consolidating basic and advanced life support and medical transport services with the agencies that already provide critical emergency medical services is expected to ensure continuity of care and enhance performance during disasters, especially when mutual aid between agencies is necessary.

The CONFIRE proposal was widely endorsed by hospitals, law enforcement, and most of the cities within the county, and was scored higher than AMR’s proposal by three of the four members of the evaluating panel.

“We appreciate the service AMR has provided to county residents for many years,” said County Chief Executive Officer Luther Snoke. “This was a very difficult decision for the board. We are looking forward to a smooth transition and providing the best level of service to those who rely on us in the community.”

San Bernardino County is divided into 26 ambulance operating areas to ensure appropriate coverage and regulation of services. In 19 of those operating areas, ambulance providers require a contract with the county to provide services. More information about the operating areas and the matters considered by the board on Tuesday is available in the county staff presentation.

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The Board of Supervisors gave its support to creating a San Bernardino County Family Campus that will serve as a transitional living facility to provide housing and services for foster children and youth with complex needs and their families. The county will now work to secure $40 million in state funding to build the facility.

Changes at the state level designed to ensure that foster children primarily live in family-based care with congregate care – formerly known as group homes – used only as a short-term therapeutic intervention have resulted in funding being available to counties to create new solutions.

Efforts to deinstitutionalize foster care have significantly reduced placement capacity and has made older children and those with higher levels of need difficult to place in family-based care. That has created a need for a transitional Family Campus that provides appropriate transitional housing and the higher-quality services required for foster children with complex needs.

The Family Campus will be an unlocked supportive living facility administered by the County Department of Children and Family Services. It will feature substance use disorder treatment for mothers with young children for up to 18 months, allowing families to remain intact while mothers undergo treatment and avoiding the placement of children into the foster care system. It will also provide intensive care services for foster youth with complex needs, a short-term behavioral health treatment program for foster youth, and a transitional housing program for former foster youth as they transition into adulthood.

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The Board of Supervisors took a significant step toward adding vital services to San Bernardino County’s innovative Pacific Village homeless services campus.

The board gave the go-ahead to efforts to secure contractors to build the $16.2 million County Department of Aging and Adult Services-Public Guardian Pacific Village Platinum Campus, or PC Project, and the $14 million County Department of Behavioral Health Pacific Village Substance Use Disorder Program Project, or SUD Project.

The Pacific Village campus, located in the City of San Bernardino, will be part of a multi-use partnership between Aging and Adult Services, Behavioral Health, County Community Development and Housing and third-party management providers to increase access to a safe home environment and resources for overall wellness and self-sufficiency.

The PC Project will expand the existing Pacific Village housing complex into a full-service continuum of care campus to promote community health and housing options to the most vulnerable residents within the county. The project will address gaps in continuum of care for people with behavioral health conditions and will meet the needs of vulnerable populations with the greatest barriers, including older adults, adults with disabilities, and people experiencing homelessness.

The SUD Project will create a comprehensive 10,900-square-foot residential treatment facility that will provide services to individuals with severe mental health illness and/or substance use disorders. This facility will provide effective, efficient, and culturally-based services to find solutions to challenges by facilitating their ability to function within their families and communities. This facility will be a 24-hour residential facility with 16 beds for those needing mental health and/or substance use disorder services and treatment. Services will include withdrawal management and residential treatment.

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Students traveling to schools through unincorporated areas near Fontana are on the path to a safer journey thanks to action taken by the Board of Supervisors.

The board formally accepted $1.5 million in federal funding secured by Rep. Norma Torres, D-Pomona, to construct the Unincorporated Fontana Safe Routes to School Project for pedestrian improvements benefitting West Randall Elementary School and Beech Avenue Elementary School.[W(1]

The project consists of sidewalk improvements, sidewalk gap filling, ADA ramps, minor road widening, and ladder-style crosswalk markings on Randall Avenue between Beech Avenue and Poplar Avenue in the Fontana area. The project will provide safety improvements for students and residents in the community by improving safety on pedestrian travel ways, eliminating visual barriers for motorists, and making the schools more accessible.

The project aligns with the Countywide Vision by helping to ensure the development of a well-planned, balanced, and sustainable county through the sidewalk and roadway improvements made around the two schools.

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Animal and human guests of the county’s Big Bear Alpine Zoo can look forward to some additional much-needed shade.

The Board of Supervisors formally accepted a $256,100 donation from the Friends of the Big Bear Alpine Zoo for use towards the installation of six shade structures at the zoo. The county will fund the remainder of the $304,472 project.

The Friends, also known as FOBBAZ, consistently support the zoo by providing financial support through fundraising and other initiatives with the purpose of enhancing the zoo’s development and programs designed to improve the visitor experience. FOBBAZ also provides docent assistance, special event coordination, and other vital support functions for the zoo.

In 2022, FOBBAZ administrated a fundraising campaign to provide shade for the animals and guests at the zoo. Shade improves animal welfare and offers a more comfortable experience for guests, encouraging guests to continue patronizing the zoo. The structures will be constructed to withstand the weather patterns that are typical for the Big Bear area.

Find out how you, too, can support the zoo by visiting FOBBAZ at https://friendsofthebigbearalpinezoo.org/. Learn more about the Big Bear Alpine Zoo and plan a visit at https://bigbearzoo.org/.

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A $1.5 million, 40-foot splash pad is coming to the new Ayala Park in Bloomington thanks to action taken by the Board of Supervisors.

The board allocated $1.2 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding and $253,876 from Fifth District Supervisor Joe Baca, Jr.’s District Specific Priorities Program budget to the Bloomington Recreation and Park District to fund the Ayala Park Splash Pad Project.

“We are excited about this great investment into our community. It will be another amenity added to our award-winning Ayala Park” said Supervisor Baca, Jr. “The splash pad will provide a source of fun for Bloomington families, especially during the hot summer months.”

Additional County Update News – December 8, 2023