With 34% of Linden’s population age 55 and older, and 27% of the population age 62 and older, city officials and EMS workers are worried about the long wait times for ambulances.
“We have seen increased response times in the past several months like most other communities across Genesee County. Upwards of 15 to 20 minutes is happening more frequently, sometimes even longer,” said Linden City Manager Ellen Glass.
Genesee County’s ambulance system is unique. It does not have one dedicated ambulance service. Instead, multiple EMS companies provide service in the area.
However, according to Kolby Miller, CEO of Medstar Inc., increased competition among companies results in ambulance crews parking near the most populated areas of the county. This means that less populated municipalities, such as Linden, have to wait longer for an ambulance to arrive when someone has a medical emergency.
Linden Fire Chief Brian Will said their firefighters do their best to stabilize a patient until an ambulance or paramedic arrives on scene.
“They are comfortable providing patient care, gathering vitals, applying oxygen if needed along with performing CPR if the patient is in need,” he said, adding that the current model with the contract worked well in the past and he’s hopeful ambulance services will have more staff available soon. “In the meantime, we adapt as needed and do our best to take care of residents when called upon until ALS (advanced life support) services arrive to the scene.”
Linden City currently has a contract with the City of Fenton and STAT EMS that has been in place since 2013.
“Unfortunately, due to challenges with the CAD system that 911 Dispatch uses and legal opinions of the consortium, our contract has never been recognized for dispatching purposes. Earlier this year, we attempted to work on a more regional effort with Argentine Township, City of Fenton, and Fenton Township for EMS Services. However, Fenton Township really had no interest in joining efforts. We are still working with Argentine Township and the City of Fenton on those efforts,” Glass said.
Fenton Township Fire Chief Ryan Volz, who’s chairman of the 911 Advisory Committee, said he doesn’t believe the answer to this problem is to have one ambulance service for all southern Genesee County municipalities.
In early November 2021, Fenton Township entered into an agreement with Medstar Inc to provide ambulance services. County 911 Dispatch is still the ultimate authority on who is called to respond to calls. On Dec. 22, the Fenton Township Board of Trustees passed a resolution urging County 911 to recognize their agreement with Medstar.
Since the agreement began, response times have improved in Fenton Township. Average response times are down from 12 minutes to 6:50-7 minutes. Volz said they will continue to work toward solutions for the entire county.
The subject is an ongoing conversation between municipalities and Genesee County 911. Glass has served on the general membership board and they’ve discussed this on a regular basis. County 911 sent municipalities a letter on what steps to take to enter into a contract with an EMS company for ambulance services.
“Municipalities that have entered into a contract recently are still pending approval from the consortium,” Glass said. “Representatives of 911 have reached out to Genesee County Board of Commissioners about finding a resolution on a county level and they felt it was better handled by the individual municipalities. Unfortunately, I do not see anything changing on a county level anytime soon.
The letter from Tim Jones, executive director of County 911, states that the consortium administration is considering recommending approval of municipal exclusive service contracts with EMS companies.
“Consortium General Counsel Anthony Chubb is negotiating an indemnity and defense agreement with any contracted EMS provider, which is currently the only proposed exclusive service contract provider of Consortium members. He will additionally require an Ordinance or Resolution by each municipality entering these agreements that explicitly sets out the following:
• The Municipality, pursuant to its police powers and authority, recognizes that EMS provider as set forth in its contract; with any contracted EMS provider;
• The Municipality directs the Consortium to dispatch a contracted EMS provider exclusively within its jurisdiction, subject to applicable backup service agreements;
• The Municipality holds the Consortium harmless from any claims the Municipality may have against the Consortium arising from Consortium recognition of the EMS services contract.”
Municipalities have to turn in documentation by Feb. 1 at noon for review. The executive board will discuss this during the Feb. 8 meeting.
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