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As baby boomers age, ambulance calls increasing in Okla.

A record number of medical calls were made in August; officials say the heat and aging baby boomers contributed to the numbers

NewsOK.com

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — As Oklahoma City’s population of older adults grows, so does the number of calls for an ambulance, a spokeswoman for the Emergency Medical Services Authority said Wednesday.

“More baby boomers are calling 911,” spokeswoman Lara O’Leary said. EMSA set a record for emergency calls in Oklahoma City in August, O’Leary said. Paramedics responded to 9,214 calls, the most in any month since EMSA ambulances began serving Oklahoma City in 1990.

Not everyone who called for an ambulance needed to go to the hospital. Paramedics took 6,813 patients to emergency rooms, O’Leary said. The previous record number of people taken to emergency rooms was 6,777 set in January. Baby boomers — those Americans born from 1946 to 1964 — who called about health problems contributed to the higher numbers, O’Leary said.

Full story: As baby boomers age, ambulance calls increasing in Oklahoma City