DELTONA, Fla. – Deltona City commissioners will vote at Monday evening's meeting to change an old system that should speed up ambulance response times, Deltona Fire Chief Bill Snyder said.
"Under the current agreement, we're more utilized as kind of a part time transport in the City of Deltona," Snyder said. "Whenever the system is overloaded, they'll call us and respond and transport the patient. Under the new agreement, we'll become more of a full-time unit and transport whenever we're closest."
Snyder explained that in Volusia County, Volusia Emergency Medical Services does all ambulance transports countywide. Only when EMS is overloaded does it ask for cities with ambulances, such as the Deltona Fire Department, for assistance under what's known as the Peak Load Utilization System.
"We never know when we're going to be utilized right now," Snyder said. "It's hard to predict daily routine, things like that."
Deltona has one full-time fully staffed ambulance and two reserves.
Snyder said Volusia County EMS is now allowing five cities including Deltona, if they choose, to use their ambulances to respond to requests for hospital transport if they are the closest ambulance, anytime.
This new agreement is the Closest Available Response Element agreement.
Deltona city commissioners must vote to make the change.
If not, Deltona's ambulances will no longer be used.
Snyder said under the old system, some patients were waiting as long as half an hour for a ride to a hospital.
"Those delays aren't as bad as they used to be but for a while there they were getting very lengthy," Snyder said.
Firefighter paramedics would respond immediately and provide medical care but sometimes Volusia County's EMS ambulances -- or Deltona's ambulances, if called -- were already on other calls, prolonging response.
Snyder said if commissioners vote yes Monday night, then dispatchers will track Deltona's ambulances via GPS and dispatch Deltona's ambulances if they are the closest to a call.
The change should speed up response times, according to the City of Deltona's commission meeting agenda.
"With the other municipalities that are participating in this agreement, five more ambulances will be added to the overall transport system countywide and therefore provide a much more robust system," the agenda read. "This should help to reduce response times here in Deltona and countywide."
Snyder said the change will also reimburse Deltona's Fire Department for response costs.
"On average, after writes-downs, we average $250 a transport (in an ambulance to a hospital)," Snyder said.
Snyder said all other calls -- firefighting and medical treatment -- are not reimbursed and are funded by taxpayers.
"It is somewhat of a loss in that we'll utilize our supplies we don't get reimbursed for, but at the same time, that's how our system has worked here in Volusia County for some time," Snyder said.
To prevent the system from being overloaded and to avoid being charged $250, Snyder recommended not calling an ambulance for a ride to a hospital unless you absolutely need one.