In response to the patient care concerns being put out by the media and social media, Beaumont Fire/Rescue, in coordination with City Leaders, would like to address the misinformation and ensure that all citizens understand how the Emergency Response team works to provide the highest level of care for the community and our vision for the future.
Undoubtedly, challenges exist in the Emergency Medical Services field, which is not unique to Beaumont, but nationwide. A changing workforce, ever-evolving societal norms, and the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated an already strained system.
Beaumont is fortunate to have City leaders who have made public safety a top priority and who continue to invest in resources that continually improve the standard of care.
Currently, we staff a minimum of five ambulances a day and as many as seven based on availability. This means that five units staffed with medically trained personnel are always available to assist on critical 9-1-1 calls and provide transport as necessary. We have budgeted to increase the number of ambulances to nine as soon as staff, vehicles, equipment, and training become available.
Calls for service have grown exponentially in the past few years, but despite the large call volume, we answer every single one. We are working on educating the public on alternative resources to 9-1-1, like Telemedicine, which can offer resources faster and over the phone for less emergent situations.
We’ve also identified a number of innovative solutions to handle the growing number of requests while simultaneously improving the services EMS provides. We are working towards creating a new Mobile Integrated Healthcare (MIH) Program, which will offer individualized non-emergency medical assessments and preventive healthcare education without the need for costly and potentially unnecessary transportation or hospital visits.
Additionally, we continue to work closely with our local hospital partners to reduce patient transfer times, provide faster care, and free up ambulance crews to return to service quicker.
The health and safety of our community is of the utmost importance, and as first responders, we take great pride in providing the best possible service to our citizens. Through patience, cooperation, and collaboration, Beaumont Fire/Rescue continues to be the world-class organization it always has been as we work towards growing the organization, expanding our services, and evolving to continue to meet and exceed the ever-changing needs of the city.
In February 2023 units responded to 1026 various levels of medical calls for service. Below is a breakdown of those calls.
EMS has established a reasonable allotted time of 30 minutes for each ambulance to clear the call after arriving at the receiving facility. For the month of February, the average Turn Around Time (wait time after arriving at an ER) at our area hospitals has been 39:14 minutes. 69% of the time, ambulances are being held beyond 30 minutes, causing a domino effect with EMS unable to respond to calls. This is the result of increased emergency demands not only on our resources but hospital staff.
Our records indicate between 07/01/2022 to 03/23/2023 approximately 1473 medical calls for service were answered but were delayed for service due to limited resources. No calls for service were ever missed or denied service from the Beaumont Fire-Rescue.
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