KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — As Knox County commissioners continue to look into the future of EMS service in the county, people like Catherine Trapp say they want to see change sooner rather than later.
More than a year ago, Trapp found her mother lying on the kitchen floor. She remembers first responders got there quickly, but she said she had to wait almost two hours for an American Medical Response ambulance to get there.
"There obviously was not enough staff or ambulances to provide care and nurturing or any sort of dignity in death," she said.
Those ambulance shortages persist, even though it's been more than 15 months since her mother passed away.
"Something has to give," Trapp said. "There has to be some sort of progress. We do not really want that to happen to anyone else in Knox County."
Mark Wilbanks, who serves as Knoxville's assistant fire chief, agrees with Trapp's sentiment.
10News met with Wilbanks at Fire Station 20 in West Hills. This particular fire station runs in excess of 2,000 calls a year, according to Wilbanks.
"About 65% to 70% of what they do is emergency medical services," he said.
Wilbanks said fire crews are some of the first ones at the scene of a priority one call, which means immediate life threats. Some examples would be difficulty breathing, chest pains and cardiac arrest.
However, when an ambulance takes too long to show up, it then becomes a waiting game.
"That creates a situation where, if other emergencies occur in the fire crew's first district, then they may not be able to respond to it and a fire truck from a further distance off may have to respond," he said. "It (the wait time) could be 15 minutes, or it could be an hour to an hour-and-a-half. We have even seen two-hour waits before."
Wilbanks explained crews are now starting to carry a few more medications so they can step in if an ambulance is delayed.
"Our goal and our desire is to have an ambulance in a timely manner to get the patient to the hospital in a timely manner," he said.
But Joshua Spencer, AMR's regional director, said the problem is not necessarily a need for more ambulances, but more people to work the ambulances, citing a national shortage of EMTs and paramedics.
Spencer said they are about 70% staffed, which includes about 170 clinicians, EMTs and paramedics. He added people over-using the EMS system can also cause shortages.
"A fair majority of the calls that we respond to are not urgent," he said. "Low acuity complaint can be something as simple as a toothache, for example. That patient may not need an ambulance to go to the ER, they probably need a dentist."
The regional director is hoping the new county contract will help them address some of these issues through initiatives like expanding their nurse navigator platforms.
Spencer said it is always not about time, but about making sure people get the care they need.
"At the end of their experience using 911, were they better?" he said. "That is the most important thing to ask."
However, people like Trapp and Wilbanks said a better ambulance service must be prioritized by local leaders in Knox County.
"There is no politics in this," Trapp said. "It is about doing the right thing for the people of East Tennessee."
"We do not really care who runs the ambulance service in Knox County," Wilbanks said. "That is not what we are concerned with. What we are concerned with is having a provider here that can take care of the folks within Knox County."