scannersnstuff
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Does the info. get fed into the cad, and the cad decide,based on closest unit ? . Do fdny and hospital based unit's get put into the same mix ? .
How does New York city 9-1-1 decide which ambulance to send ?
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The FDNY*EMS Emergency Medical Dispatchers are Emergency Medical Technicians who have received additional training in call taking and dispatching. The call is forwarded to an EMT call taker from the NYPD 911 operator. After the address and call back number are verified, and while pre-arrival first aid instructions are given to the caller, the Computer Aided Dispatch system routes the call (job) to the appropriate radio dispatcher. The CAD system utilizes algorithms which have been developed over several decades, as well as real time GPS information. The Radio Dispatcher reviews the CAD recommendation, and dispatches the closest appropriate resource to the assignment. FDNY*EMS units, Hospital based units (known as voluntary units), and FEMA Mutual Aid units (COVID Surge), are all dispatched by Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD). This does not include Hospital or private EMS units providing routine inter-facility transport.
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I would have to guess that this all happens in an instant? If not, they may have already had the funeral for the patient by the time all this plays out.
They take the 911 call and then throw a dart to see where it lands then they send they furthest possible unit...
Less than a minute. Pre-arrival instructions, such as bleeding control or CPR, are being given to the caller while resources are responding.
....under OPTIMUM conditions. Otherwise, the term, "next available," or "no unit available" is used.
NYC*EMS is not sitting around waiting for runs, for the most part. It's not like those old black-and-white movies, where the ambulance crew is sitting around in the hospital and then run out. They very often go to run, after run, after run, etc, sometimes all night.
And always remember something else: no one has a Constitutional right to ambulance service, or, for that matter, Police or Fire responses. It is what it is when the first call comes in. "No one available" means just that: no one is coming right away.
And, in the state of affairs NYC is in right now, that may happen more often than not in the near future.
MStep
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One of the reasons EMS got integrated into the FDNY was due to the efficiency of the FDNY in getting units on the road quickly. Even before the FDNY dispatch went to a CADS system, but especially after full computer dispatch, from the time a call is received to the time the firehouse doors are opening can be less the 60 seconds.
I realize this is slightly different than EMS getting integrated into FDNY like you said.
But while trying to figure out why firetrucks were always dispatched around where I'm at (for strictly medical calls) , I came to the (possibly mistaken) conclusion that they wanted the fire truck with the paramedic or best EMT on it, then the ambulance could be used for just transport when a patient was stable, and the paramedic could stay on the scene (if appropriate) to treat other people that get hurt later (firemen etc...).
So am I off on this idea or what?
Thanks
Joel
But while trying to figure out why firetrucks were always dispatched around where I'm at (for strictly medical calls) , I came to the (possibly mistaken) conclusion that they wanted the fire truck with the paramedic or best EMT on it, then the ambulance could be used for just transport when a patient was stable, and the paramedic could stay on the scene (if appropriate) to treat other people that get hurt later (firemen etc...).
So am I off on this idea or what?
Thanks
Joel
FDNY Firefighters are CFR-D, Certified First Responder - Defib, not EMTs or Medics. So you're not getting a Fire Truck operating as an EMT / Paramedic unit. Are there Firefighters who are EMTs and Medics? Yes, but your view here is off base, they operate primarily below the certification of EMT, and EMT is the minimum standard for patient transport.
My experience in this is as someone who worked EMS in NYC a long time and a whole other lifetime ago, who now operates within EMS in Connecticut.
In some areas fire depts are dispatched as a first responder unit depending on the severity of the call to arrive and start treatment prior to a transport unit arriving.
That's what I was thinking, in addition to the freeing of the ambulance to transport patients that are stabilized, while the "best" medical person stays at the scene to continue with additional patients, or new patients if a fireman gets hurt.
I just was imagining in some events, the removal of the paramedic to transport patients as part of the ambulance team, when theres a chance of more serious injuries coming up (like the chance of finding more seriously hurt people that are in a building).
I understand that some paramedics have there own vehicles, and wouldn't go with the ambulance, but I imagine cases where they don't have their own vehicle.
I have no skin in this BTW, just using my imagination.
Thanks
Joel
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