Based on concerns about emergency response time voiced by residents of Seven Lakes West, Moore County's Board of Commissioners approved, during their Tuesday, September 5 meeting, a temporary fix to a new Emergency Medical Services dispatch procedure that will ensure an ambulance is sent to all calls in Seven Lakes West -- and across the county.
Moore County Public Safety recently changed its protocols for dispatching County EMS and Volunteer Rescue Squad units based on a strategic planning project, County Emergency Manager Scot Brooks told the Commissioners.
“It is inefficient and very expensive if you are sending multiple units to the same call,” said Brooks, who added that this duplication of service was a common practice in the past. Brooks explained that Public Safety moved to a tiered system that aims to send only the necessary equipment and personnel to a call and not “tie up” extra resources.
Public Safety also redrew the boundary lines of rescue service areas, splitting Seven Lakes West between West End Fire & Rescue and Seven Lakes EMS.
But an untended result of the change was slower response times in Seven Lakes West, according to Seven Lakes West Landowners Association [SLWLA] Secretary Jane Sessler, who addressed the Commissioners on the issue.
“We are now aware of some of the issues that may have precipitated the changes to the system,” said Sessler, “and none of them have improved the efficiency or efficacy of the critical management of our emergency services.”
After changes to the rescue service areas were discussed during the SLWLA's Tuesday, August 28 meeting, Westsiders sent more than eighty emails to the Board of Commissioners expressing concern.
West Side Asks for Dual Dispatch
“The residents in Seven Lakes West are very concerned about the recent changes that happened to our EMS coverage,” said Sessler. “The Seven Lakes EMS squad is very familiar with Seven Lakes West community and knows the way around our incredible maze of roads.”
She asked that a dual call to Seven Lakes Rescue and West End Fire and Rescue be made in the event of an emergency in Seven Lakes West, noting that several Westsiders volunteer with the Seven Lakes Squad and that the Westside community has contributed to the recent purchased of a new Seven Lakes EMS ambulance.
More than forty residents of Seven Lakes West attended the Commissioners’ meeting and stood to show their support after Sessler spoke to the Board.
Max Foley told the Commissioners that he had experienced slower response times firsthand, when he called 9-1-1 because of cardiac symptoms suffered by his wife, Maryann. He explained that it took one-and-one-half-hours from his call to Mrs. Foley's arrival at the emergency room.
“In our case, it worked out alright; but it might have been different,” Foley told the Commissioners. “These situations arise all the time, not only in Seven Lakes West, but throughout the County. If one ambulance is out, and we have to keep going further and further away, I have a concern with it.”
Commissioners Approve Change to Dispatch System
At the recommendation of Emergency Manager Brooks, the Commissioners unanimously approved a temporary change to the dispatch system. If a Moore County advanced life support unit in is the district from which a call originates, it will be dispatched to the call. If a paramedic unit is not available, then 9-1-1 operators will automatically dispatch the next available basic life support ambulance, even if the call is to a location outside that unit's rescue district. This will take effect countywide -- not just in Seven Lakes West.
Moore County EMS units carry professional paramedics and associated equipment capable of providing advanced life support, and County property owners pay a special tax levy to fund that service. Volunteer Rescue Squads -- like West End Fire and Rescue and Seven Lakes EMS -- provide only Basic Life Support Services. Many residents may not be aware of the distinction. Adding to the potential for confusion is the fact that the garages at West End Fire and Rescue house both a Moore County Advanced Life Support unit and a West End Basic Life Support unit.
Brooks told The Times that his goal is to have paramedic-level response to every emergency in the county.
Chairman Larry Caddell told The Times that the Commissioners' action Tuesday night was an “easy decision” to put the Seven Lakes West residents' “minds at ease.” As President of Southern Software, which provides the 9-1-1 dispatch system to Moore County, Caddell said the system could be updated immediately.
The Emergency Services Advisory Committee [ESAC] -- a group of firefighters, fire chiefs, and citizens that discuss emergency situations throughout the County -- will discuss the matter further during their Thursday, September 6 meeting and formulate a more permanent solution to recommend to the Commissioners.
During the budget process earlier this year, the Commissioners approved funding to add seven new emergency responders to the Public Safety staff.
Closed Dam Road is an Impediment
According to Fire Marshall Ken Skipper, part of the problem affecting emergency response in Seven Lakes West is the closed road over Lake Auman Dam.
Skipper said he has asked Seven Lakes West to have the gates changed from manual locks to an electronic system -- or one that can be triggered by a siren.
“We didn’t know there was an issue with these gates until recently,” said Skipper.
According to SLWLA Safety and Security Director Jim McCarthy, each County medical and rescue vehicle has been given a barcode to access the back gate of Seven Lakes West and has a way to unlock the gates over Lake Auman.
Currently, the gates have to be unlocked manually -- something that should take about thirty seconds.
“That thirty seconds is a lot of time, if your house is burning or you’re having a heart attack,” said Skipper.
[Watch for additional Seven Lakes Times coverage of the September 4 Board of Commissioners meeting.]
