Detroit Works To Improve Emergency Services
Plagued with complaints about slow response times, Detroit's troubled Emergency Medical Services department is hoping to improve collections and hire more EMTs.
Detroit Executive Fire Commissioner James Mack says twenty-five new Emergency Medical Technicians are nearing completion of their training and will help fill the more than forty vacancies in the department.
Mack says, additionally, a new collection division will go after people who don't pay their EMS bills. However, he says there will always be a significant number of unpaid bills.
"The economic climate of the city is not of such that, if you're uninsured, that you can pay $850 for an ALS ambulance. I don't car how much we talk about collection -- there's going to be a vast majority of people that cannot pay," Mack said.
Detroit City Councilwoman Brenda Jones says even more must be done to ensure citizens' safety.
"I've been concerned with how many trucks we have, how many EMS paramedics there are out there with the things that are happening in the city with people calling 9-1-1 requesting a truck and a truck not being available," Jones said.
According to Mack, sixteen of Detroit's EMS vehicles are currently out of service.
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