The East Hampton Star
LONG ISLAND, N.Y. — With an average of 4,500 emergency medical calls to answer each year in the Town of East Hampton and ongoing struggles with volunteer recruitment, retention, and response times, the emergency medical service community is getting creative about how to ensure help gets to patients faster.
The East End Ambulance Coalition, made up of representatives from all six agencies that serve the town, is proposing an East End Responder Program that would be spread over all six districts as a single territory. Under the program, which has gotten mixed response from the various agencies — advanced life support providers would respond to the scene of emergencies 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in what are known as “fly cars.” An ambulance and volunteer emergency medical technicians would also need to respond, but medical attention could already be started on scene.
Advanced life support providers offer an increased level of care, particularly during major trauma or heart attacks. In contrast to basic emergency medical technicians, they can intubate a patient, start intravenous therapy, and administer narcotics, such as pain medication and drugs that help stop seizures.
Read full story: 24/7 Regional E.M.S.?