The number one emergency communication service offered here in the city of Santa Cruz is Santa Cruz Regional 9-1-1, which was formerly known as The Santa Cruz Consolidated Emergency Communications Center (SCCECC) 

Santa Cruz Regional 9-1-1 provides public safety and 911 dispatch services for the County of Santa Cruz, and the cities of Santa Cruz, Watsonville, and Capitola as well as the County of San Benito and the city of Hollister. SCR 9-1-1 also provides services to ten (10) fire districts, American Medical Response West (the local paramedic and ambulance transport provider), and County Animal Control Services. 

SCR 9-1-1 is the primary Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) for Santa Cruz and San Benito County with the exception of Scotts Valley Police and the 
University of California at Santa Cruz. SCR 9-1-1 acts as the secondary PSAP for these agencies and maintains two fully equipped and operational 
Alternate Sites in Watsonville and Hollister. 

Santa Cruz Regional 9-1-1 is dedicated to serving as the vital link between the public and public safety organizations through responsiveness and technical excellence while in partnership with its Users and employees.

You can visit their website at scr911.org to learn more!

All information is from the Santa Cruz Public Library website,  http://php.santacruzpl.org/cid/public/full.php?id=1432. 

What is Emergency Medical Services (EMS)?

• The 911 Center– Santa Cruz Consolidated Emergency Communications Center, staffed by Emergency Medical Dispatchers. Always dial 911 if you have an emergency! 
• Fire First Response– EMT Firefighters and Paramedic Firefighters respond first to emergency calls. They arrive on scene in fire engines or rescue vehicles.
• Ambulance– Transportation and pre-hospital care, staffed by Paramedics. Ambulance services include Advanced Life Support (ALS), in addition to other medically necessary transportation.
• Helicopter Transport to Trauma Centers– Patients may be transported by helicopter to the nearest Trauma Center. Helicopter transports are staffed by Registered Flight Nurses (RNs). Santa Cruz County is served by Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, Regional Medical Center, and Stanford University Hospital trauma centers.
• Hospitals Intake– Santa Cruz County has two emergency receiving hospitals: Dominican Santa Cruz Hospital and Watsonville Community Hospital. Pre-Hospital Care Providers coordinate the patient’s care with emergency room staff at the hospital. Emergency Medical Services hospital staff include Mobile Intensive Care Nurses (MICNs), and Physicians (MDs).

EMS System History

Santa Cruz County filed its first state EMS plan in 1986. At the time, the county was served by a mix of ambulance providers. That was to change in the late 1980s. By then, north Santa Cruz County (county territory north of Freedom Blvd.) was dominated by a single provider, Pac Med. Pac Med’s sole proprietor purchased South County’s then-only ambulance company, A-1 Ambulance of Watsonville. Pac Med was later pooled into American Medical Response West (AMRW).

Since 1990, AMRW has been the sole 24-hour ALS ambulance transport provider in the county.

This and more useful information on what services Santa Cruz County provides can be found here: http://www.santacruzhealth.org/HSAHome/HSADivisions/PublicHealth/EmergencyMedicalServices.aspx

Contributed by Cody Freeman