Medical professionals urge discretion before calling for an ambulance

Local hospitals have noticed an increase in the number of people arriving at emergency rooms in ambulances, believing they'll receive faster service.

They won't, say hospital officials and ambulance operators.

"They think by doing that, they'll get fast care but it's not true," said Jeff Baker, West Valley market and general manager for Southwest Ambulance.

He said most hospitals triage their patients and place a priority on them based on the severity of their condition.

When he worked as paramedic in the field, Baker said he received three to four of those phone calls a week.

"It would be for something that really wasn't as major, but because they didn't want to wait in the ER what could be a long time, they called 9-1-1 for ambulance," he said. "Hospitals, however, are seeing what they believe are the most critical patients first."

Jeff Nelson, spokesman for Banner Del E. Webb Medical Center in Sun City West, said he hasn't seen many of those cases, but they do occur.

Nelson said they're set up to handle all of the ER patients through the triage system.

"The paramedics alert us upon all of the arrivals," he said. "We've always been set up to see the sickest patients first."

Mark Heberlein, interim director of the emergency department at Banner Boswell Medical Center, said he agrees.

"We might take someone with extensive chest pains who walked into the hospital versus someone who rides in the ambulance with a broken finger," Heberlein said.

Holly Walter, a spokeswoman with Southwest Ambulance, said people should assess whether they need to call for an ambulance, which could be costly, depending on the type of equipment used and distance traveled.

Baker said people should use discretion before deciding to call for medical transportation.

"If an individual feels that they need to be transported, then we'll do it," he said. "But it doesn't necessarily mean they're going to get cared for first."

Mitchell Vantrease can be reached at 876-2526 or e-mail mvantrease@yourwestvally.com.