Onondaga County lawmakers want to get more information on the state of ambulance service in central New York, after a slew of reports of slow response times, backups at area emergency rooms, and more.
Onondaga County Legislator Kevin Meaker said he’s personally seen the impact of slow ambulance response times, in the case of his teenage daughter.
“She was recently diagnosed with epilepsy and she had a seizure at school and there was a 21-minute wait for an ambulance to get there,” Meaker said.
Lawmakers have heard many stories like that, and the reasons why run the gamut from more calls, fewer staff, and back-ups at emergency rooms that force ambulances to wait for hours before getting back on the road.
The county’s mutual aid system means if one ambulance provider can’t handle a call, then another one will. That can sometimes force an ambulance to drive across the county. Onondaga County Emergency Management Commissioner Dan Wears said before officials can make improvements to the system, they need to know exactly what’s going on.
“We have a lot of anecdotal information from talking with agencies and getting some information,” said Wears. “I think the idea of having an independent people look at this and really kind of help us really define what where the issues are. I think more importantly out of us how we continue to improve it.”
County lawmakers are expected to vote next week to spend $200,000 on the comprehensive study, which Wears said could show a range of recommendations.
"My assumption is that the recommendations are going to span everything from do absolutely nothing and continue as is, to the county, you know, get into the EMS system and be involved in it," he said.
Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon said this is an issue touching counties across New York, and said some counties have gotten into the EMS business. But before making any kind of decision, the county needs data.
“This will be an important document for us to really look internally and have an honest conversation with each other with where we stand and where we need to go."
