42.6 F
Oxford

Lafayette County Ambulance Issue Moves to Forefront

Baptist North Mississippi’s ambulance response time has been reported to average nine minutes (in 2015).
Baptist North Mississippi’s ambulance response time has been reported to average nine minutes (in 2015).

Mediocrity is a slippery slope. Benchmarks and other guidelines are sometimes levied with a “best case scenario” approach, embedding or assigning low expectations to a project.

Could this be happening with Oxford and Lafayette County’s ambulance service, or lack thereof?

It has been reported recently that the response time of Oxford’s ambulance service has been mediocre at best; sometime forcing victims to wait up to 40-minutes for transport to Baptist North Mississippi, which is obviously unacceptable to many… especially the victims and their families.

QUOTE-1

Baptist North Mississippi’s Administrator and Chief Executive Officer William C. Henning’s impression is that his staff and the medical responders have the situation under control and they remain fluid as our county grows and medical emergencies increase. His office’s scrutiny of the situation is continuous, according to Henning.

According to another hospital spokesperson, Baptist North Mississippi’s response times “have been equivalent to the national average” – which begs the question; who set the benchmark value for “average” and what exactly is that average?

If, as it has been reported, the national ambulance response time is indeed nine minutes – and Baptist rates equally or below that statistic – the response value claims by the hospital strain when factoring in the 40-minute wait by some local victims (mentioned above). The math just does not add up. Or does it?

Baptist North Mississippi’s Administrator and Chief Executive Officer William C. Henning
Baptist North Mississippi’s Administrator and Chief Executive Officer William C. Henning
“The response times are actually recorded based off the 911 calls,” Henning explained. “We don’t keep the statistics, those are actually statistics kept through the 911 service. These are the stats coming from the 911 system.”

“For the last four to five years, we’ve had about an average response time of 9-minutes (according to the 911 statistics),” Henning said.

According to Henning, the statistical discrepancy between the 40-minute response time and the reported average of nine minutes can be accounted for by a majority of Baptist’s responses falling below the 9-minute benchmark – sometimes well below. In addition, Henning assures that there are very few calls where the response time is reported as 40-minutes.

“Fifty percent of our calls (in 2015) were done in seven minutes or less,” Henning said. “Ten percent of our calls were done in less than three minutes.”

Regardless, it seems heavy dissection and scrutiny of that data remains a necessity and will be valuable as Lafayette County grows and – along with it – our need for timely and reliable ambulance services. As of this writing, there are three ambulances that service our area and three crews who man those vehicles; with the heaviest saturation being placed during peak hours (daytime shifts) where all three crews are available and on call.

The Oxford Board of Alderman, along with Mayor Pat Patterson, have been tasked with organizing work sessions to address the problem and see if possible ambulance additions are in order for Lafayette County. Those meetings have already begun (both casually and formally), vindicating this discussion.

Other options include procuring additional private ambulance services to supplement Oxford’s existing ambulance contract with BMH-North Mississippi. That contract was drawn up in 2011.

Dr. Douglass Sullivan-Gonzalez
Dr. Douglass Sullivan-Gonzalez
Dr. Douglass Sullivan-Gonzalez, dean of the UM Honors College and Lafayette County Emergency Medical Responder and volunteer firefighter asks, “People or profit? That’s the simple question surrounding this issue.”

“Here’s the challenge: Baptist has two crews that have to man the ambulances 24/7,” Sullivan-Gonzalez said. “So, if there’s a call, and then there’s a second call, and then there’s a third call, then the first call (ambulance) has to circulate back to go do the third call.”

“It benefits Baptist to transport rather than make local runs,” Sullivan-Gonzalez explains. “The way they count that is, two ambulances are active when in fact, only one is.”

gonzalez“Baptist (hospital) of course wants to serve the people, but they’ve created an administrative trap where profit is driving decision making,” Sullivan-Gonzalez continued. “They refuse to adjust ambulance presence versus the increase in population… both student and county. They have a structural difficulty ahead. They (hospital administrators) are following the letter of the contract which states it (population growth) is not their responsibility.”

However, according to Henning, this is not the case.

When asked whether or not his office would scrutinize the number of ambulances and crews needed as the demand grows in Lafayette County, Henning said, “We do that continuously. I always have our ambulance services review our call volume; look at what our response times are and particularly, our non-emergency transports.”

“We average about 14 transports a day,” Henning added. “So, it’s not like we have 50 calls to go out on. A couple of years ago, I think the number of transports a day were 13; so yes, the county has grown tremendously but it’s not a like a one-to-one growth on the ambulance service.”

The above situation and statistics have forced Baptist to consider adding non-emergency transport (part-time) units as an option to free up their available “regular” ambulances for emergencies. This option has been considered regularly throughout the years.

“We’re looking at different options; do we need to consider changes in the service? We’re always looking at that (possibility),” Henning said.

QUOTE-2

The point of the above; the trickle down effect is obvious as the out of county transport situations would most definitely skew responder statistics. If Lafayette County is missing an ambulance due to a transport situation – that would in fact leave our entire area with only one ambulance and crew during nighttime hours for the duration of the transport. What happens if multiple ambulance calls are received during that timespan?

Henning quoteThis question and others are at the forefront of this situation and are being addressed by hospital administrators, Mayor Patterson and the Oxford aldermen as they consider the possibility of additional ambulances and how they might be acquired; as well as other options (including non-emergency transport) that will be open for discussion as the issue progresses.

“We’re not going to let a contract dictate what we think is needed to take care of the health care and medical needs of this community,” Henning concluded. “If we see that there’s a need based on today’s statistics – that there’s a need for more (ambulance) services in the county – we’re going to meet those needs. Just because the contract says something, it doesn’t mean we can’t go beyond that (to meet Lafayette County’s needs).”

Oxford mayor, Pat Patterson
Oxford mayor, Pat Patterson
“Let me offer this,” Mayor Patterson said. “I think we get good medical care down here; in fact I know we do. However, I think the community is concerned about ambulance availability. Once you get to the hospital, there’s no doubt the care is top notch, but getting there’s seems to be becoming a bigger issue.”

Only time (and demand) will tell how this situation plays out as Lafayette County and Ole Miss grow. The good news is that the issue has recently moved to the forefront, so that those concerned – the ones that can make a difference – can hash this out in a positive direction.

Collectively, let’s pray that a tragedy doesn’t force the issue.


Jeff McVay is a staff writer and graphic designer for Hottytoddy.com. He can be reached at jeff.mcvay@hottytoddy.com.

Follow HottyToddy.com on Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat @hottytoddynews. Like its Facebook page: If You Love Oxford and Ole Miss…

Most Popular

Recent Comments

scamasdscamith on News Watch Ole Miss
Frances Phillips on A Bigger, Better Student Union
Grace Hudditon on A Bigger, Better Student Union
Millie Johnston on A Bigger, Better Student Union
Binary options + Bitcoin = $ 1643 per week: https://8000-usd-per-day.blogspot.com.tr?b=46 on Beta Upsilon Chi: A Christian Brotherhood
Jay Mitchell on Reflections: The Square
Terry Wilcox SFCV USA RET on Oxford's Five Guys Announces Opening Date
Stephanie on Throwback Summer
organized religion is mans downfall on VP of Palmer Home Devotes Life to Finding Homes for Children
Paige Williams on Boyer: Best 10 Books of 2018
Keith mansel on Cleveland On Medgar Evans
Debbie Nader McManus on Cofield on Oxford — Lest We Forget
Bettye H. Galloway on Galloway: The Last of His Kind
Richard Burns on A William Faulkner Sighting
Bettye H. Galloway on Galloway: Faulkner's Small World
Bettye H Galloway on Galloway: Faulkner's Small World
Bettye H Galloway on Galloway: Faulkner's Small World
Bettye H. Galloway on Galloway: Faulkner's Small World
Ruby Begonia on Family Catching Rebel Fever
Greg Millar on The Hoka
Greg Millar on The Hoka
Greg Millar on The Hoka
Greg Millar on The Hoka
jeff the busy eater on Cooking With Kimme: Baked Brie
Travis Yarborough on Reflections: The Square
BAD TASTE IN MY MOUTH on Oxford is About to Receive a Sweet Treat
baby travel systems australia on Heaton: 8 Southern Ways to Heckle in SEC Baseball
Rajka Radenkovich on Eating Oxford: Restaurant Watch
Richard Burns on Reflections: The Square
Guillermo Perez Arguello on Mississippi Quote Of The Day
A Friend with a Heavy Heart on Remembering Dr. Stacy Davidson
Harold M. "Hal" Frost, Ph.D. on UM Physical Acoustics Research Center Turns 30
Educated Citizen on Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving
Debbie Crenshaw on Trump’s Tough Road Ahead
Treadway Strickland on Wicker Looks Ahead to New Congress
Tony Ryals on parking
Heather Lee Hitchcock on ‘Pray for Oxford’ by Shane Brown
Heather Lee Hitchcock on ‘Pray for Oxford’ by Shane Brown
Dr Donald and Priscilla Powell on Deadly Plane Crash Leaves Eleven Children Behind
Dr Donald and Priscilla Powell on Deadly Plane Crash Leaves Eleven Children Behind
C. Scott Fischer on I Stand With Coach Hugh Freeze
Sylvia Williams on I Stand With Coach Hugh Freeze
Will Patterson on I Stand With Coach Hugh Freeze
Rick Henderson on I Stand With Coach Hugh Freeze
George L Price on I Stand With Coach Hugh Freeze
on
Morgan Shands on Cleveland: On Ed Reed
Richard McGraw on Cleveland: On Cissye Gallagher
Branan Southerland on Gameday RV Parking at HottyToddy.com
Tom and Randa Baddley on Vassallo: Ole Miss Alum Finds His Niche
26 years and continuously learning on Ole Miss Puts History In Context With Plaque
a Paterson on Beyond Barton v. Barnett
Phil Higginbotham on ‘Unpublished’ by Shane Brown
Bettina Willie@www.yahoo.com.102Martinez St.Batesville,Ms.38606 on Bomb Threat: South Panola High School Evacuated This Morning
Anita M Fellenz, (Emilly Hoffman's CA grandmother on Ole Miss Spirit Groups Rank High in National Finals
Marilyn Moore Hughes on Vassallo: Ole Miss Alum Finds His Niche
Jaqundacotten@gmail williams on HottyToddy Hometown: Hollandale, Mississippi
Finney moore on Can Ole Miss Grow Too Big?
diane faulkner cawlley on Oxford’s Olden Days: Miss Annie’s Yard
Phil Higginbotham on ‘November 24’ by Shane Brown
Maralyn Bullion on Neely-Dorsey: Hog Killing Time
Beth Carr on A Letter To Mom
Becky on A Letter To Mom
Marilyn Tinnnin on A Letter To Mom
Roger ulmer on UM Takes Down State Flag
Chris Pool on UM Takes Down State Flag
TampaRebel on UM Takes Down State Flag
david smith on UM Takes Down State Flag
Boyd Harris on UM Takes Down State Flag
Jim (Herc @ UM) on Cleveland: Fall Vacations
Robert Hollingsworth on Rebels on the Road: Memphis Eateries
David McCullough on Shepard Leaves Ole Miss Football
Gayle G. Henry on Meet Your 2015 Miss Ole Miss
Guillermo F. Perez-Argüello on Neely-Dorsey: Elvis Presley’s Big Homecoming
Jennifer Mooneyham on ESPN: Ole Miss No. 1 in Nation
Wes McIngvale on Ole Miss Defeats Alabama
BARRY MCCAMMON on Ole Miss Defeats Alabama
Laughing out Loud on ESPN: Ole Miss No. 1 in Nation
Dr.Bill Priester on Cleveland: On Bob Priester
A woman who has no WHITE PRIVILEGE on Oxford Removes Mississippi Flag from City Property
A woman who has no WHITE PRIVILEGE on Oxford Removes Mississippi Flag from City Property
paulette holmes langbecker on Cofield on Oxford – Rising Ole Miss Rookie
Ruth Shipp Yarbrough on Cofield on Oxford — Lest We Forget
Karllen Smith on ‘Rilee’ by Shane Brown
Jean Baker Pinion on ‘The Cool Pad’ by Shane Brown
Janet Hollingsworth (Cavanaugh) on John Cofield on Oxford: A Beacon
Proud Mississippi Voter on Gunn Calls for Change in Mississippi Flag
Deloris Brown-Thompson on Bebe’s Letters: A WWII Love Story
Sue Ellen Parker Stubbs on Bebe’s Letters: A WWII Love Story
Tim Heaton on Heaton: Who is Southern?
Tim Heaton on Heaton: Who is Southern?
Karen fowler on Heaton: Who is Southern?
Don't Go to Law School on Four Legal Rebels Rising in the Real World
bernadette on Feeding the Blues
bernadette on Feeding the Blues
Joanne and Mark Wilkinson on Ron Vernon: a Fellowship of Music
Mary Ellen (Dring) Gamble on Ron Vernon: a Fellowship of Music
Cyndy Carroll on Filming it Up in Mississippi
Dottie Dewberry on Top 10 Secret Southern Sayings
Brother Everett Childers on ‘The Shack’ by Shane Brown
Mark McElreath on ‘The Shack’ by Shane Brown
Bill Wilkes, UM '57, '58, '63 on A Letter from Chancellor Dan Jones
Sandra Caffey Neal on Mississippi Has Proud Irish Heritage
Teresa Enyeart, and Terry Enyeat on Death of Ole Miss Grad, U.S. Vet Stuns Rebel Nation
P. D. Fyke on Wells: Steelhead Run
Johnny Neumann on Freeze Staying with Rebels
Maralyn Bullion on On Cooking Southern: Chess Pie
Kaye Bryant on Henry: E. for Congress
charles Eichorn on Hotty Tamales, Gosh Almighty
Jack of All Trades on Roll Over Bear Bryant
w nadler on Roll Over Bear Bryant
Stacey Berryhill on Oxford Man Dies in Crash
John Appleton on Grovin' Gameday Memories
Charlotte Lamb on Grovin' Gameday Memories
Guillermo F. Perez-Argüello on Two True Mississippi Icons
Morgan Williamson on A College Education is a MUST
Morgan Williamson on A College Education is a MUST
Jeanette Berryhill Wells on HottyToddy Hometown: Senatobia, Mississippi
Tire of the same ole news on 3 "Must Eat" Breakfast Spots in Oxford
gonna be a rebelution on Walking Rebel Fans Back Off the Ledge
Nora Jaccaud on Rickshaws in Oxford
Martha Marshall on Educating the Delta — Or Not
Nita McVeigh on 'I'm So Oxford' Goes Viral
Guillermo F. Perez-Argüello on How a Visit to the Magnolia State Can Inspire You
Charlie Fowler Jr. on Prawns? In the Mississippi Delta?
Martha Marshall on A Salute to 37 Years of Sparky
Sylvia Hartness Williams on Oxford Approves Diversity Resolution
Jerry Greenfield on Wine Tip: Problem Corks
Cheryl Obrentz on I Won the Lottery! Now What?
Bnogas on Food for the Soul
Barbeque Memphis on History of Tennessee Barbecue
Josephine Bass on The Delta and the Civil War
Nicolas Morrison on The Walking Man
Pete Williams on Blog: MPACT’s Future
Laurie Triplette on On Cooking Southern: Fall Veggies
Harvey Faust on The Kream Kup of the Krop
StarReb on The Hoka
Scott Whodatty Keetereaux Keet on Hip Hop — Yo or No, What’s Your Call
Johnathan Doeman on Oxford Man Dies in Crash
Andy McWilliams on The Warden & The Chief
Kathryn McElroy on Think Like A Writer
Claire Duff Sullivan on Alert Dogs Give Diabetics Peace of Mind
Jesse Yancy on The Hoka
Jennifer Thompson Walker on Ole Miss, Gameday From The Eyes of a Freshman
HottyToddy.com