DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — DeKalb County approved a massive 5-year, $77 million contract to try and improve its ambulance response times.
The decision comes after years of reporting showing that DeKalb County lagged behind industry standards.
It’s been 16 months since Rufus Bedford Jr. fainted at a church fish fry after someone tossed 360-degree grease on his arms, back, and shoulders.
“We have called like five, six times, and nobody is still here, or nobody came,” callers told 911 operators at the time.
The ambulance never showed up.
“Somebody is not doing their job, and it should be responsible,” Bedford Jr. told Channel 2’s Michael Doudna.
That day, Bedford waited 30 minutes before a church member drove him to Grady Memorial Hospital after a misclassification of his call delayed a response.
On Tuesday, the county voted on a plan they hope will prevent what happened to Bedford from happening again.
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“This is reimagining how we are going to provide EMS in DeKalb,” DeKalb County Fire Chief Darnell Fullum said.
The $77 million plan calls for the contractor to promise to provide 600 hours of service a day, with around 35 ambulances at its peak.
“Adding more resources means we can do more innovative things, like a posting system, and get to our citizens quickly,” Fullum said.
The plan will include a new substation and a new system, trying to make sure that when a 911 call comes in, the response times go down.
“It’s very, very important because it’s either life or death,” Bedford said.
For people like Benford, he is encouraged by the investment and hopes that the investment in safety pays off and saves lives.
“Spending that kind of money, they ought to be on time,” Benford said.
The contract also includes penalties if the contractor does not meet its end of the bargain.
“Since the beginning of the year, we have taken swift measures to ensure optimal EMS outcomes. We will not yield on our expectations for stellar emergency service, and we’re taking every measure possible to meet the service level the community deserves. This investment is crucial to achieving the service we expect,” DeKalb County CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson said in a statement on Tuesday.
The contract breaks down to a little more than $15 million a year. Currently, the county is paying only $5 million.DeKalb
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