The Hub RX for weary EMTs
Team will target ODs, minor emergencies
First responders being buried in non-lethal calls that delay ambulances for residents elsewhere in the city could get relief from a new pilot program targeting the Hub’s notorious “Methadone Mile” and homeless hot spots.
The Walsh administration is set to launch a team of EMTs in a marked SUV equipped with Narcan, oxygen and defibrillators later this year to treat minor calls in downtown and along Massachusetts Avenue to free up vital resources.
Daniel Koh, Mayor Martin J. Walsh’s chief of staff, said on Boston Herald Radio’s “Morning Meeting” show yesterday the idea is to triage the workload so the entire city is safely covered.
“People who actually need ambulances aren’t going to get one as fast because there are ones that are being quote-unquote wasted on ones that don’t get needed,” Koh said. “If an ambulance is needed, we then call for an ambulance.”
City Emergency Medical Services Chief Jim Hooley said the roving SUV will “free up some units several times a shift” to make “lifesaving calls.” Otherwise, he added, ambulance crews would need to stick around with a person until they can get help.
Boston EMS can get hundreds of calls a night, Hooley said, but not all of them are at the same level of need. Many calls Downtown and along Massachusetts Avenue — the stretch known as the “Methadone Mile” for the number of drug addicts on the street — are for further investigation and come from passers-by reporting someone who appears to be in distress, as opposed to calls from people at home.
Koh said the city examined the frequency and location of those calls to set up the pilot program after discovering about 30 to 40 percent of the calls “of a certain type ... end up sending an ambulance that is not needed.”
Ambulances on those calls of people lying on the street or facing medical issues do provide services, often helping patients find shelter or addiction treatment, Hooley said. But while that is necessary, it isn’t the best use of resources.
“EMTs in an ambulance could do that, but tying them up at the scene isn’t the best use of our time when we’re doing 330 calls a night,” Hooley said, adding the idea of a crew in an SUV is a “good start” to easing the crunch.
This also comes as more manpower is on the way. After receiving four graduates from a new class beginning this Monday, EMS will have 375 responders. Hooley said the new unit will also be four people, but made up of EMS veterans.
Hours and shifts will have to be worked out with the union. Hooley said the new patrol could also operate on bicycle or foot in warmer months to reach people in areas less accessible by vehicle, such as Boston Common.
“Hopefully we’ll get to try out a lot of this and see what’s most efficient,” Hooley said. “It will definitely help.”
Koh stressed the goal is to monitor the pilot and “hopefully be able to save lives in the process.”