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Comprehensive Assessment of Emergency Medical Services 64 <br />and 911 /Communications Center Operations Study <br />Emergency Transports <br />Tracking the number of emergency victims transported, together with the number of emergency <br />incidents to which ambulances are dispatched, becomes important when later analyzing average call <br />duration together with call volume during "prime- time" hours to determine the basis for ambulance <br />availability. <br />Patients transported by EMS are billed <br />for the service, which in recent years <br />has generated considerable revenue to <br />offset the County's operating costs. <br />With the exception of 2009, the ratio <br />of EMS patient transports to total EMS <br />calls dispatched has shown to be <br />increasing at a relatively steady rate <br />between 2007 and 2011. The 5 -year <br />average ratio of transports to total <br />EMS calls is just under 70% at 69.92. <br />Figure 12 <br />Annual Emergency Transports <br />Year <br />EMS Calls <br />Dispatched <br />Number <br />Transported <br />Percentage <br />2007 <br />9269 <br />6171 <br />66.6% <br />2008 <br />9833 <br />6631 <br />67.4% <br />2009 <br />9749 <br />7330 <br />75.2% <br />2010 <br />10420 <br />7284 <br />69.9% <br />2011 <br />1 10719 <br />1 7562 <br />1 70.5% <br />Transport Destinations <br />There were a total of 10 transport destinations <br />listed on the NCOEMS /CIS website for Orange <br />County EMS during calendar year 2011. Of the <br />7,562 transports made, 87.6% were to the first <br />five destinations identified in this table. <br />It is significant to note that of the state's six (6) <br />certified Level I Trauma Centers, two (2); UNC <br />Hospitals and Duke University Hospital; are <br />within minutes of most areas of Orange <br />County. As well, a third Level I Trauma Center: <br />Wake Med; can generally be reached within <br />40 -50 minutes depending upon the point of <br />origin within Orange County. <br />2.3 PERFORMANCE & COSTS <br />Figure 13 <br />EMS Transport Destinations <br />Facility N <br />Number P <br />Percent <br />UNC Hospital 4 <br />4,875 6 <br />64.5% <br />Duke Univ. Medical Center 1 <br />1,125 1 <br />14.9% <br />Durham Regional Hospital 4 <br />438 5 <br />5.8% <br />Alamance Reg. Medical Center 1 <br />129 1 <br />1.7% <br />Durham VA Medical Center 6 <br />61 0 <br />0.8% <br />6,628 I 87.6% <br />UNC Healthcare Chapel Hill <br />UNC Heart Center <br />UNC Student Health 934 12.4% <br />Carillon Assisted living <br />Carol Woods Retirement Comm. <br />7,562 1009/. <br />Response Time <br />An EMS Ambulance /Unit's response time is: the time from the initial alert or announcement by the <br />Communications Center (also called "tone' "page'; or "dispatch ") of the reported emergency, to the <br />time that the service vehicle and appropriate personnel arrive on the scene. <br />Why is time so important? According to the National Emergency Number Association (NENA), "The <br />most elementary explanation of why time is important in a medical emergency has to do with the <br />obvious; "... it may mean the difference between life and death".' <br />5 NENA; "911 System Survey and Resource Guide'; 2002 <br />Solutions for Local Government, Inc. 20 <br />