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Comprehensive Assessment of Emergency Medical Services 31 DRAFT REPORT and 911/Communications Center Operations Study The medical dispatch response codes used by Communications Center Telecommunicators (see Figure 10, page 18) will identify for first responders and EMS Medic personnel the initially identified condition identified and the Response Code as well as the Response Status recommended; i.e. "DELTA" = "life threatening, First Responders respond Emergency Status; i.e. lights &siren". Proper triaging of an emergency medical call is vital and can go a long way to assuring the responder dos not run over a pedestrian at a crosswalk on the way to an incident that is not an emergency. This said; response "time" in Orange County must still be addressed. The professional organizations that have spoken to and suggested the time standards referenced have identified their basis for doing so. In many discussions of the topic with local EMS professionals in North Carolina, ALS response objectives are typically established at between 8:00-9:00 minutes. On the basis if the organizations that have endorsed this standard it merits attention and until the North Carolina Medical Board which is responsible for adopting the rules and standards governing advanced life support services says otherwise, the standard; albeit its potential consequences, need to be considered seriously. Vehicle Speed& Distance to Incident Location For reference, the following formula can be used to calculate the average travel time, particularly for major emergency vehicle; i.e. ambulances and Fire trucks; between two points; (NFPA 1720-A.4.3.2): 1.7 x Distance+0.65 =Travel Time For example, if the distance to the scene of an incident is known to be five (5) miles; (1.7 x 5)+.65=9.15; a Travel Time of 9 minutes and 12 seconds This travel time equates to an average speed of 33-34 miles per hour, which actually is not unusual for fire vehicles (or for rescue and EMS vehicles) for this distance considering acceleration, deceleration, time of day, road conditions, other traffic, etc. Reversing this formula, using the 2011 EMS average Travel Time of 09:30, and converting the 32 seconds to hundredths of a minute, would result in the following: 9.50 minutes Travel Time= 1.7 times Distance"x"+.65 or (7.53- .65)/1.7 =4.2 miles traveled This being the case, how far could the Medic Units travel and still meet the objective of an 8:00 minute total response time? However, were this to be the case; i.e. ALS ambulances never responding to incidents further than 4.2 miles from their assigned base-in order to meet the 8:00 minute Total Response Time objective; the area within which the EMS units could effectively travel would leave the majority of the County essentially"uncovered". The pages that follow include a sequence of County maps that illustrate the concern associated with this issue. Solutions for Local Government,Inc. 29