Sandy Springs Fire Chief Keith Sanders wants to end a subsidy with the city’s ambulance provider for faster response times because the city’s fire trucks respond more quickly to emergency calls and provide the same life-saving service.
Sanders told the city council on Tuesday that ambulance service provider AMR wants an 850 percent increase to the $260,000 subsidy the city pays annually for 8-minute response times.
“We really don’t need them there within 10 minutes because we’ve got paramedics on our trucks that are getting there within 8 minutes, stabilizing the patient,” Sanders said.
Patient insurance payments to AMR for ambulance service have dropped to a fraction of the $1,725 cost of a call. That was a factor leading the ambulance service to request the subsidy increase, Sanders said.
Sanders wants to work with other North Fulton cities in a regional approach to set ambulance response times at 12 minutes. That would reduce the amount of subsidy the city would have to pay.
Sanders wants the city to buy an emergency vehicle to respond when an ambulance is delayed but a critically ill patient needs immediate transport to the nearest hospital. This transport-capable medical response unit would be equipped with both firefighting equipment and advanced life support.
The $390,046 cost for the vehicle would be covered by public safety impact fees. Mayor Rusty Paul said that the city council would be asked to approve its purchase at its Feb. 6 meeting.
To staff the new truck, Sanders proposed taking one of three aerial trucks out of service to free up fire personnel. But that would only be done if it wouldn’t negatively affect the city’s fire insurance rating. Otherwise, the city would need to hire six new firefighters to staff it, with three per shift.
The fire chief said what’s more important for a patient’s outcome is for bystanders to immediately begin CPR before firefighters or ambulances arrive. He said there should be more emphasis on education for city residents and workers in the city.
Sanders also wants to start a para-medicine program. One full-time fire department staff member would visit assisted living facilities and similar places to teach them not to call 911 every time if it’s not a real emergency. The para-medicine program would help train them on handling calls that should have been non-emergency situations instead of calling 911 for an ambulance.
Sanders has also asked that nursing homes and assisted living facilities be charged a service fee for non-emergency calls, which are mostly lift assists after a person has fallen at the facility.
He said they believe that 3,000 calls could be removed from the 911 system over 24 months through this training and education. That will reduce the number of calls ambulances get.
The city’s $3.6 million contract with AMR for ambulance service expires this summer.