Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect that the San Francisco Emergency Medical Services Agency, which is a part of the Department of Emergency Management, conducted the aforementioned investigation. A previous version of this story misidentified the investigating agency. The updated story is as follows.
A San Francisco Emergency Medical Services Agency investigation determined a quartet of emergency medical technicians working for a drug-treatment program operated by a health nonprofit did so while circumventing state regulations.
Officials said one EMT at the HealthRight 360-operated SoMa RISE at 1076 Howard St. “knowingly worked” without EMT certification, and three others worked at the site despite state law barring EMTs from working in a hospital, clinic or shelter setting. A COVID-19-era executive order provided an exemption that has since expired.
“An individual certified as an EMT may be able to deliver care while not under the medical control of a [Local Emergency Medical Services Agency] medical director, so long as they have another form of healthcare license or certificate,” the Department of Emergency Management said in a statement to The Examiner. “However, the EMT Certificate cannot be the sole authority to deliver care under EMT scope of practice in a fixed facility. SFEMSA, within its scope pertaining to EMS oversight, is working with and providing information to HealthRight 360 to ensure compliance with state EMS laws and regulations, which is the goal of enforcement.”