The volume of ambulance calls and transports is projected to climb steadily in Sumter County, but for the moment, ambulances are getting backed up trying to offload patients at local hospitals.
This was part of a comprehensive presentation by Sumter County Fire Chief Leland Greek on Tuesday afternoon in front of the Sumter County Commission.
Last year, Rural/Metro Ambulance transported 15,320 patients in Sumter County, of which The Villages makes up a significant portion. This year that number is forecast to grow to 16,633 and in 2017 it is expected to rise to nearly 18,000.
This past Friday, ambulance crews were waiting up to three hours at The Villages Regional Hospital and Leesburg Regional Medical Center, Greek said. He said it’s a matter of staffing and ambulance crews must stay with patients at the hospital. That takes ambulances out of service.
He said Villagers in particular, when given the choice to go to a different hospital to avoid the long wait, don’t want to do it.
“They have created a great product and people want to go to their hospital,” he said. “They don’t want to so somewhere else.”
Contributing to the crush is the fact that we’re “in season,” Greek said.
“But ‘the season’ keeps getting longer,” he added.
In 2012, Sumter County began its contract service with Rural/Metro Ambulance. Commissioners said service has improved tremendously and the county is saving about $1 million per year.
“It’s a very good agreement,” Commissioner Doug Gilpin said of the county’s relationship with Rural/Metro. “It is good to look back and see it has been successful.”
Greek brought along the newest Sumter County Fire & EMS truck, the “Quint.” The truck was set up in the parking lot of the Sumter County Service Center on Powell Road, which is where the commission’s workshop session was held.
It gave the commissioners the opportunity to check out the truck and ask questions about it.
