Emergency response for rural areas

NOXUBEE & WINSTON COUNTIES, Miss. (WCBI) – A concern for many people living in rural areas is ambulance response time.

Is it safer to drive yourself to the hospital or wait for emergency personnel?

If you live 25 or 30 miles from a hospital, it could take upwards of half an hour before an ambulance can get to your house.

However, help could be closer than you think.

“Seconds count,” said Danny McKay.

And when those seconds turn to minutes, they can be the difference between life and death.

But should you call 911 or drive to the hospital yourself?

“The safest route is always to dial 911. That puts a medically trained person out there as soon as possible,” said McKay. “The system is dial 911 if there’s an emergency medical responder that’s close by that might get there before the ambulance they can get over there, and they’re medically trained in CPR and first aid.”

There are some situations though that driving yourself might be the better option.

“One of the factors that you have to think about it is the distance from the hospital,” said James Medlin. “If you live one block from the hospital and something’s going on or even up to 5 or 6 miles from a hospital you could probably get that person to the hospital a lot quicker if you just put them in your car and take them.”

If you live outside that 6-mile radius emergency services still have ways of getting to you quickly.

“A lot of our EMR’s volunteer fire department can get there quicker than ambulances. They can relay back to the ambulance and let them know what kind of condition the patient is in if they need to speed up or slow down,” said Jody Garrard.

The EMR’s and volunteer fire departments can be critical during emergencies.

“Sometimes our ambulances are tied up, we only have two, and ambulances here in the county and they may be tied up, and all these people are depending on our volunteer fire departments,” said Garrard.

If you do decide to make the drive to the ER, the severity of the emergency often dictates how quickly you’re seen.

“If it’s an emergency they come in, and they’re treated first that’s the mantra of the emergency room is the worstest is the firstest, if you’ll pardon my misuse of language,” said McKay. “The triage process is if there is somebody who is an emergency you do take them first.”

Danny McKay says that the safest thing to do if you are unsure whether your emergency is severe enough for an ambulance go ahead and call 911.