Quick details, I work in a nursing home at night.

There are 3 ambulance services from nursing home.

1) One is located 4 miles southwest of home.
2) One is located 13 miles southeast of home.
3) Once is located 13 miles northeast of home.

When I called 911 dispatch it took forever for ambulance to come. Medic 2 got there in 10 minutes.

Why won't the one closest come?

I was going to be bold and dial 911 when I got home and ask them why the one 4 miles away does not respond.

Who do I contact with this info, anyone know?

TIA

By Vicki on Monday, November 26, 2007 - 12:52 pm:

Was the closest one already out on a call when you called for them?

Also, is the nursing home set up on a contract with one of them?

Just a couple of things that popped into my mind??

By Colette on Monday, November 26, 2007 - 01:02 pm:

I would call the local PD and ask them about it.

By Bobbie~moderatr on Monday, November 26, 2007 - 01:03 pm:

You could call the non emergency number for the police department and ask. It is likely that the other service was on a run or they may have some type of rotation figured out on how the calls are sent out. There may just be no rhyme or reason to it all.. Sorry for the stress, waiting had to cause you.

By Marg on Monday, November 26, 2007 - 06:25 pm:

The strange thing is several occurrences have gone by and the closest ambulance service is not the ones coming out.

No contract that I'm aware of.

We live in a really rural area, so I'm not sure if the other service was out or not.

By Crystal915 on Monday, November 26, 2007 - 06:57 pm:

Was it a life threatening emergency? My ex was an EMT, and worked for a private service that contracted with the nursing homes. This is very common in rural areas. Anyway, ambulances triage just like any other medical service. Also, many cities have a rule (so to speak) that if an ambulance gets called out, the fire truck goes, too. If there is a private EMT service who can take the call instead, it saves resources.

By Bobbie~moderatr on Monday, November 26, 2007 - 07:57 pm:

Crys, that is true for around here too. 911 dispatches city ambulance, that means the fire trucks are on the way too and usually first, LOL. The fire department for our side of town is a little over a block from my house. It took some adjusting to, about gave me a heart attack for the first few months and now I don't even notice them coming and going. Pretty good for a (14 year) country girl, only in the city a little over a year.

Marg, I bet they are contracted for the runs. Is it always the same company that comes? I bet they are the primary ambulance company on record at dispatch. If they can't make the run then they would call in a secondary company or one not contracted.