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Slower response times blamed on new Mo. system

Since Kansas City took over MAST Ambulance Services, crews have been hitting goal only 76 percent of time

By Chris Oberholtz, Heather Staggers and Laura McCallister
KCTV5

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Everyone relies on ambulances during times of trouble, and the city is trying to get to the bottom of problems with ambulance response times. It’s enough to prompt a city audit.

Public Safety Committee members heard numbers surrounding the city’s ambulance service that raised concern. Since the conversion two years ago when the city took over MAST Ambulance Services, combining MAST with the Kansas City Fire Department, committee members said ambulance response times have been a bit slower.

When MAST ran ambulance calls, data showed crews made it to emergencies in fewer than nine minutes 90 percent of the time. Since then, response times have gotten longer, and in the last few months, crews have been hitting that mark only 76 percent of the time.

Full story: City addresses problems with KC ambulance response times