Wake County Emergency Management Services (EMS) is planning to soon roll out some changes to its services this year.
Wake County EMS director Jonathan Studnek said the goal is to better serve its residents, adding that they plan to implement a triage service.
“We have to work better at triaging patients or sorting patients to make sure that the fourth or fifth caller, if they're the sickest, get the quickest response and everybody else receives a good, reliable service,” he said. “And so we're implementing a triage system to help assure that our sickest patients receive care first.”
Studnek said they also will choose not to use lights and sirens as often.
“We're going to increase that a little bit, because we have data that helps us understand what people need life-saving interventions quickly,” he said. “And what people need is an ambulance to arrive reliably at their home to help them manage medical issues that they may be having that don't require that life-saving intervention.”
Studnek said EMS ambulances using lights and sirens are five times more likely to be involved in a fatal motor vehicle collision. He added that the first phase could start as early as May or June.
Prior to rolling out the services, Wake EMS will host community input meetings to get feedback from residents. The first meeting will be held next Wednesday, Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. at the Wake County Emergency Services Education Center in Raleigh.
