Reported by: Hagit Limor
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Cincinnati city council made it official today: a new effort to make sure there are enough ambulances when people call 911.
The I-Team first told you in February about shortages that meant some people had to wait in line for an ambulance.
And what did city council do about the problem?
They created this new special task force that is going to come up with solutions by the end of this year.
Our I-Team report showed that on average every day, at least two callers to 911 had to wait because all the ambulances were busy.
Later that week, the city manager issued a report.
Then council committees held several hearings to talk solutions.
Today council took action with this task force that will look into creating two tiers of service: one for true emergencies and the other for folks who call with lesser medical needs.
"In the current system if we have one of our very few ambulances taking someone to the hospital for a runny nose and a family member has a heart attack, we may not have an ambulance for you right away," said council member Jeff Bearding. "With only 10 ambulances, there's a shortage and we're going to get to that. We're going to fix it."
Berding suggests "alternative" transport in something less than an ambulance to care for some folks who have no way to get to the doctor or hospital. he says other cities do it.
Of course the task force will look at other suggestions, too.
They have a December 31 deadline to present a plan to the whole council.
