9 Investigates Volusia County plan to replace ambulances with cabs for some non-emergency calls

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — The next time someone calls 911 in Volusia County and needs a ride to the hospital, they may end up in the back of a cab instead of an ambulance.

9 Investigates first reported about the efforts being made in Volusia County to reduce the number of ambulance transports for medical calls deemed to be non-emergencies.

Less than a year into the first round of changes, tweaks are being made.

Near the corner of 10th Street and Center Avenue in Holly Hill, fire crews regularly respond to a homeless man requesting medical help.

“We respond to him multiple times a week, and he goes out to the hospital every time,” Fire Chief Jim Bland said.

On Jan. 5, one of those calls, which tied up an EVAC ambulance, happened at the same time as an emergency call in Ormond-by-the-Sea. The next closest ambulance to transport that patient was in New Smyrna Beach.

“Probably a 30-mile trip for that ambulance to make, while we're loading up a non-emergency patient in a truck that was 10 miles away,” Bland said.

It’s part of the problem leaders tried to address with the “Right Size Response Program,” which uses a series of questions by dispatchers to determine whether a 911 call needs an immediate ambulance response.

A review of the program shows the questions dispatchers are asking don’t always lead to adequate coding, resulting in ambulances and fire trucks responding to thousands of scenes together.

“I’m a little disappointed, because I think it could be better,” Bland said.

Now, dispatch questions are being tweaked, and the county’s legal team is reviewing a plan to provide taxi vouchers to non-emergency patients who still want to go to the hospital.

County leaders are also considering a release form for those patients, to allow crews to move on before a transport shows up.

“They don't want to tie up an ambulance any more than we want them to tie up an ambulance. Some people get it,” Bland said.

So far, the changes have resulted in about 10 fewer transports per day via ambulance, and six fewer runs by fire trucks. That’s something Bland says will eventually reduce wait times, while leaving emergency crews available for true emergencies.

“What we're trying to prevent is someone that needs an ambulance not having access to one when someone that doesn't need an ambulance has access to one,” Bland said.

Cox Media Group