Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Fire Department looks to add ambulances: Would be largest expansion of medical services in 6 years

The Chicago Fire Department would add up to six ambulances for non-emergency calls and 10 more advanced life support engines under anexpansion of emergency medical services in the works that aldermenhave been demanding.

This month, six spare or special events ambulances were pressedinto basic life support (BLS) service to handle a surge of heat-related calls in the central business district.

Now, Fire Commissioner Ray Orozco Jr. wants to make that 50percent increase in BLS ambulances permanent -- and raise the numberof advanced life support (ALS) engines from 40 to 50, City Hallsources said.

It would mark the largest expansion of emergency medical servicesin Chicago in six years.

TWO-TIERED SYSTEM

"The BLS program is a success and the commissioner intends toexpand it," said Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford.

Langford noted that 47 percent of the 24,000 EMS calls the FireDepartment receives each month are for basic life support.

"The commissioner is going to continue the two-tier system becauseit's the best way for a large city to handle its EMS requests. Manyof our calls can be handled with a BLS ambulance. In fact, we findthat on occasion we have to send ALS where a BLS ambulance would havebeen sufficient because we have no more BLS ambulances to send," hesaid.

UPGRADED AMBULANCES

Pete Houlihan, EMS director for the Chicago Firefighters UnionLocal 2, said the city would be better served if the 12 BLSambulances were converted to ALS.

"Then paramedics can respond and call-takers don't have to gothrough a flip-chart" of questions aimed at determining what type ofambulance to send, he said.

"Adding BLS ambulances is not the answer. What it does is put agreat burden on the call-takers to dispatch properly."

Ald. Ginger Rugai (19th), who has led the charge for an ambulanceupgrade, welcomed the expansion now in the works. "With the highernumber of 911 calls, many of us have thought for a long time that weneeded an increase in equipment."

But Rugai said she, too, would be happier if Orozco was adding ALSambulances with "more life-saving equipment and better-trainedpersonnel."

"Everybody deserves the best," she said.

The Chicago Fire Department has a two-tiered system of ambulanceservice to reserve the most costly and sophisticated treatment forseverely ill or injured patients.

There are 59 ALS ambulances, each staffed by two paramedicsqualified to administer intravenous medication. ALS ambulances arestocked with drugs and equipped with heart-monitoring devices. Thecity also has 40 ALS engines with at least one paramedic, an EMT andadvanced life support equipment.

In June 2000, the city added 12 BLS ambulances to handle non-life-threatening calls. They are staffed by emergency medical technicianswho undergo less training. BLS ambulances do not have medicine ormonitoring equipment. They are permitted to only transport BLSpatients to hospitals.

In September 2003, the two-tiered system suffered a black eye atthe hands of state inspectors.

STATE GOES AFTER AMBULANCES

Nine of the 12 BLS ambulances were taken out of service from twoto five hours after inspectors found an "alarming" combination ofunclean vehicles, under-trained employees and missing and expiredequipment. Fourteen EMTs were yanked off their ambulances andretrained after they were unable to answer basic questions about howthey would use equipment and under what circumstances.

fspielman@suntimes.com

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