TRENTON, Ga. – The company running Dade County’s ambulances has scaled back its coverage to one overnight ambulance in the county, but officials say average response times have slowed by only 17 seconds.
Jim Webber, operations manager for Lifeguard Ambulance Service, which runs ambulance coverage in Dade County and East Ridge, said the company has shut down one of the overnight ambulance crews to trim expenses. One crew will work overnight – when the fewest calls come in – but the other will run calls only between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m., he said.
“That’s a business call on their end,” said Dade County Emergency Management Agency Director Alex Case. “They’re already giving us more than the contract requires.”
Case said residents likely will not notice the 17-second increase in response times.
Dade County pays Lifeguard $8,333 per month based on a three-year contract signed in 2008. The contract requires only one 24-hour ambulance crew and another for eight hours.
The ambulance company had been providing two 24-hour crews before scaling back on Sept. 27. Last month, the emergency office received 174 calls, or about 5.8 per day, records show.
Lifeguard and other private ambulance providers make most of their money off payments from the patients they transport and their insurance companies but, like some hospitals, they receive government subsidies for indigent care and other services.
Webber said his company decided to cut back the coverage because of a decreased number of calls overnight and economic pressures.
And the problem is not just a local one, he said.
“I’m sure you could Google ‘ambulance hours’ and systems all across the country are trying to solve public safety coverage,” Webber said.
Under the new schedule, when the Dade ambulance leaves its bay for a call, a backup ambulance immediately is dispatched from the Lifeguard building at South Kelley Street and 23rd Street in Chattanooga.
“On average, it’s 10 to 12 minutes and we’re in (Dade) County (with a backup truck),” said Michael Sharpe, operations supervisor for Lifeguard.
For major emergencies or disasters, Dade, like most counties in the area, has mutual aid agreements with neighboring ambulance providers.
Webber said Lifeguard evaluates the demand for service every 20 weeks and will evaluate the impact of the changes the next time around.
“We’re working very closely with the county to make sure their needs are met,” he said.