MILFORD - Mayor Benjamin Blake announced Tuesday that the city has entered into a contract with Nelson Ambulance Co. for most of its routine, or "basic life support" ambulance calls, a move that he said will improve response times.
The city is already handling most advanced life support, or ALS, calls which involve the more life-threatening situations.
The switch to Nelson for basic life support, or BLS, calls was made because Nelson could provide quicker service owing to its ability to station ambulances within the city. The previous BLS provider was American Medical Response, better known as AMR.
“The new contract demands seven minutes or better response times and better patient care,” Blake said. “The former company couldn’t agree to that seven-minute deadline.”
The Fire Department sees about 5,000 calls for ambulances every year, a seemingly high number, considering that there are about 20,000 households. Of these, 3,500 are for an ALS response with the remainder calling for a less acute BLS response.
There are about 2,000 calls for fires and related incidents per year, officials said, far less than the calls for medical help.
This is why, according to Battalion Chief Dan Wassmer, nearly all of the 112 firefighters in the MFD are certified as emergency medical technicians. And of these, 27 are also licensed paramedics, meaning that they cay can provide a very advanced level of emergency care.
The MFD costs the city more than $50 million a year, and there are other costs to the service not included in that figure, such as vehicle acquisition.