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AMR ‘evaluates complaints’ by Buffalo council member about response times

Theo

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — A downtown Buffalo business owner tells 7 News a woman collapsed inside her business.

She called 911 and said it took AMR two hours to respond to her call. She is just one of many people who have contacted Fillmore District Councilmember Mitch Nowakowski with concerns about AMR’s response times.

“I’ve heard that not only have they been destabilized, or they’ve had virtually no response or no ambulances have arrived at all, and that’s really alarming,” Nowakowski said.

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WKBW

The 7 News I-Team reported last week that Nowakowski sent a letter to AMR requesting information about response times, staffing shortages and vehicles that could be contributing to the delays.

“These delays are not only alarming, but also pose serious risks to the health and well-being of our residents,” Nowakowski said.

Buffalo AMR ambulance response times questioned by city council

“And we need to look at this more closely after hearing a series of complaints for some time,” Nowakowski said.

Mitch

WKBW

He said the city’s contracted third-party ambulance service has been operating without a contract since March 2021.

“It is also clear that we still have an open contract that has not been settled with AMR,” he added.

Lawmakers addressed those concerns at Tuesday’s Common Council meeting.

“Unless there’s some sort of mass emergency, there’s no excuse for them not to get there in a timely manner,” said North District Councilmember Joseph Golombek.

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“One thing we talked about this morning is that I have staff working on a resolution that will be tabled for our next meeting that asks the administration to consider creating our own ambulance service,” Council President Chris Scanlon told Nowakowski.

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AMR provided the following statement to 7 News:

American Medical Response (AMR) is currently evaluating the allegations made in Councilor Nowakowski’s letter published on July 18. In the spirit of transparency, we would like to provide an update on the operational status of AMR Western New York.

Although the exclusive operating agreement between the City of Buffalo and AMR Western New York has ended, we continue to provide essential emergency medical services to the city we call home. We respect the Request for Proposal (RFP) process, which is why we submitted a response to the City’s RFP shortly after it was issued in August 2021. Although the process has been paused, AMR Western New York continues to serve our community in times of need.

AMR Western New York prioritizes responding to high-emergency calls, such as traumatic injuries and cardiac arrests, and believes our response times to these calls are in line with industry standards.

Due to the priority given to the most serious cases, lower acuity calls may result in longer response times. AMR Western New York remains committed to the City of Buffalo and continues to make significant investments in our people and infrastructure, such as development and recruitment programs, to address a staffing shortage impacting EMS systems nationwide.

These include our award-winning “Earn While You Learn” program and funding for EMT education and training through Erie Community College (ECC). In fact, 17 new EMTs are expected to graduate from the ECC program in August, strengthening our ability to continue to meet Buffalo’s emergency medical needs.

AMR Western New York invests in Buffalo because it is our community. Our first responders not only work here, they live here and continually make sacrifices to serve the people they love.

AMR Western New York remains committed to working with city leaders, allied agencies and healthcare facilities to continue to improve EMS services in the City of Buffalo. We look forward to continuing this conversation and meeting with the Buffalo City Council Finance Committee in September.

According to the National Fire Protection Association, the benchmark time it takes for an emergency crew to respond to a critical call is nine minutes or less.

AMR’s average response time has not been made public.

“We understand that calls are a priority, but we have to show ourselves, through data, that these calls are being adequately responded to, because that is not the prevailing sentiment here on the street,” Nowakowski said.

He said he asked AMR to testify at a finance committee meeting on September 10.

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