KNOX COUNTY, Tenn. — The "Mission District" is a section of Broadway near downtown Knoxville where a large population of unhoused people gather.
American Medical Response, Knox County's EMS provider, said it's sending a large number of ambulances to the area for non-serious calls, taking away resources from other areas. It was one of the issues highlighted in a recent report about response times and ambulance availability.
"It's certainly a concern for the community that it takes a significant amount of time and resources to manage that area," said Joshua Spencer, AMR's Regional Director.
WBIR requested and obtained specific figures from the county contractor. AMR says it receives around 2,200 calls a year from the area. Out of those, around 1,300 are described to AMR as a "priority one" call. Then, after crews arrive on the scene, only around 50 result in a trip to the emergency room.
AMR said they often see a lot of calls requiring non-ambulance-related treatment.
"The type of help they need maybe isn't an ambulance or a hospital. They might need more of a social work or mental health type of assistance," said Spencer.
The ambulance provider said to lower those unnecessary transports, call takers can redirect callers to other health responders before an ambulance is sent out.
"When you receive a call, it shouldn't always mean an ambulance coming to the scene with lights blazing. It can mean that you just need to talk to a doctor or nurse via telehealth, or another form of medical care," said Spencer.
The Salvation Army provides assistance to unhoused people in the Mission District area, and they say that the best solution is to expand outreach to the vulnerable population.
"I understand the pressure this puts on ambulance and health care workers. What we need to continue to do is make sure we're checking in with these people in the Mission District and making sure they have the opportunity to keep up with their health care providers early on," said Kent Jones, program manager for the Salvation Army.