Indianapolis to Study EMS Response Time, Quality Of Care

INDIANAPOLIS --

From response times to medical care onboard, the city of Indianapolis will soon launch a full-scale study in an effort to streamline metro ambulance services.

Five separate companies currently operate ambulances within the city, 6News' Jack Rinehart reported.

Wishard Hospital ambulances took more than 67,000 runs last year, arriving on scene in less than eight minutes in 90 percent of those.

But city officials said response times don't tell the complete story of patient care. That's why they're launching a study to evaluate where services could be improved.

"We need to capture and flow through that information," said Indianapolis Public Safety Director Scott Newman. "So, at the back end, we need to know how things came out. Did they live or die?"

With the results of the study, public safety officials said they hope to develop a county-wide standard for medical treatment and care.

"The process begins when somebody dials 911 and ends when they're discharged from the hospital. And I think that looking at every step of the way is critical to truly be patient-care focused," said John Karolzak of Rural / Metro Ambulance.

Newman said he plans to ask for federal stimulus money to train unemployed autoworkers to become trained EMTs. He said he also wants to create high school programs to graduate EMT-ready candidates.