Orange County NC Website
5 <br /> 1 Chair Pelissier said that she would hope that the Sheriff and everyone in the criminal <br /> 2 justice systems will be involved in the creation of a new jail and the County needs to look at this <br /> 3 and alternative programs simultaneously. <br /> 4 2. Draft Comprehensive Assessment of Emerqencv Medical Services and 911/ <br /> 5 Communications Center Operations Studv <br /> 6 Michael Talbert said that the County Commissioners will be receiving a final draft <br /> 7 Comprehensive Assessment of Emergency Medical Services and 911/ Communications Center <br /> 8 Operations Study. The County Commissioners approved this in December of 2011 and it has <br /> 9 taken a little over six months to complete. It has been thoroughly vetted through the <br /> 10 Emergency Services Work Group. Steve Allan, from Solutions for Government, was present to <br /> 11 give an overview of the report. <br /> 12 Steve Allan made a PowerPoint presentation. The call volume in 2011 was 10,719, <br /> 13 which was an increase from 10,420 in 2010. The primetime of the day for calls is from 9:00 <br /> 14 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. <br /> 15 He explained the turn-out time and the travel time, which total the response time. <br /> 16 Regarding the Emergency vs. Non-Emergency Response Times, he explained that Emergency <br /> 17 is a response with lights and sirens and Non-Emergency has no lights or sirens. The Average <br /> 18 Event Duration Time is the time it takes for the vehicle to respond to an emergency, transport <br /> 19 the patient, and be ready to respond again. The increase in this is a combination of the travel <br /> 20 distance and the backup in the emergency vehicles. <br /> 21 The issues of concern are: Availability of Ambulances, Response Times, and EMS <br /> 22 Facilities. <br /> 23 Availabilitv of Ambulances <br /> 24 <br /> 25 During 2011 ambulances were directed to "MOVE" 2,360 times from their identified <br /> 26 staging area or location to another point in the County because: <br /> 27 a. The number of ambulances immediately available was down to one (1) and the <br /> 28 subject ambulance was directed to move to a location (typically) near the center of <br /> 29 the County in anticipation of being able to respond in any direction the call may <br /> 30 direct. <br /> 31 <br /> 32 or <br /> 33 <br /> 34 b. In tracking the status of multiple ambulances, the Communications Center and/or <br /> 35 EMS Supervisor(s) noted significant area gaps in coverage and redirected <br /> 36 movement of ambulance(s) accordingly. <br /> 37 <br /> 38 Steve Allan said that moving ambulances this many times is significant. <br /> 39 <br /> 40 Response Time <br /> 41 <br /> 42 "The time from the initial alert or announcement by the Communications Center of the <br /> 43 reported emergency, to the time that the service vehicle and appropriate personnel <br /> 44 arrive on the scene." <br /> 45 <br /> 46 The factors that most commonly impact response time include: <br /> 47 - The time required to access and engage the vehicle <br /> 48 - The speed at which the emergency vehicles is able to travel <br /> 49 - The distance that must be covered to the incident dispatched, and <br />