HomeMy WebLinkAbout032707 Ambulance StaffingAMBULANCE STAFFING
GOALS
Report to City Council
3/27/07
1
Objectives
•Define current reality and lack of a national
standard
•Present and compare alternative models
•Provide best recommendation for Virginia
Beach
2
Current Reality
•Baseline staffing level is at least 8
ambulances (across specific stations)
•Call demands per ambulance are very high
•Travel times are often prolonged
•At baseline, Virginia Beach has the lowest
number of ambulances staffed by
population in Hampton Roads
3
Quest for a Standard
•No national standard for ambulance staffing
exists.
•From the experts --Localities must set their
own goals based on an assessment of
population, geography, demands,
performance and resources.
4
Models Considered
1)Use existing resources
2)Regional comparison
3)Population
4)Individual ambulance call volume
5)Unit hour utilization
6)Response times
7)Peak demand or “no calls holding”
5
Models Compared
How many would we need?
1)Current = 9-10 typical
2)Regional = 11-12 (20 if per capita based)
3)Population = 12 (1/35k) -18 (1/25k)
4)Demand = 10-11 (<3.5k/yr)
14-15 (<2.5k/yr)
5)UHU = 10 (45%) –17 (25%)
6)Response Times = 12-14
7)Peak Demand = 12-14
6
How did Virginia Beach fit?
•No model was found to support our baseline
level of 8 ambulances.
•Call volumes and Unit Utilization at 1/3 of
stations are considered unacceptably high.
At least two more stations are nearing the
unacceptable threshold.
•Current staffing level cannot not provide
shorter response times.
7
Common Themes From the Models
1)Keep calls per ambulance below 3,000/yr
(12-13 units required)
2)Keep unit hour utilization (UHU)
below 40% (12-17 units required)
3)Consider population
(12-15 units required)
4)Consider rural/low volume areas
separately
8
Recommendations
1)Adopt a demand-based standard of
1:3,000 calls (target level of 12 staffed
ambulances)
2)Consider a limited augmentation model to
support ALS coverage in the Sandbridge
area
9
Questions?
10