WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE, Ohio — The Fayette County EMS District released its October performance numbers Monday, reporting an increase in 911 call volume as voters prepare to decide Tuesday whether to renew the levy that funds the county’s ambulance service.
The district answered 406 total 911 requests in October, up from 373 calls during the same month last year, according to the agency. Crews made 343 patient contacts during the month, the district said.
The district reported an average chute time — the time between a call coming in and a crew leaving the station — of 1 minute 48 seconds in October, along with an average response time of 6 minutes 45 seconds. The agency said 74% of all emergency responses arrived on scene in less than eight minutes.
Crews transported patients to facilities throughout the region in October, including 253 transports to Adena Fayette Medical Center, the district said. The agency also coordinated six helicopter transports for critically ill or injured patients requiring advanced care.
The district released the figures as it continues marking 50 years of service to Fayette County and as voters in the townships and municipalities that make up the EMS district head to the polls Tuesday for Ohio’s Nov. 3 general election, when they will decide whether to renew the levy that funds the agency. Polls open at 6:30 a.m., and the district has urged residents within its coverage area to vote in favor of the renewal.
The levy would not exceed 1.9 mills and would cost the owner of a $100,000 home about $49 a year, according to a cost breakdown the district released in August. Officials have said the measure is a renewal of existing funding rather than a new tax and would not raise the district’s tax rate above what residents already pay. The levy is expected to raise about $1.48 million annually for the district, which the agency has said responds to roughly 4,400 calls for service each year.
The Fayette County EMS District covers all county townships and municipal corporations, including the village of New Holland, with the exception of Jefferson Township, the village of Jeffersonville, and the portion of Perry Township served by the Greenfield Exempted Village School District. Only residents of those participating communities will vote on the levy.
Under the district’s billing policy, a patient’s insurance is billed for ambulance service, and any remaining balance is covered by levy revenue rather than passed on to the resident, officials have said.
The Fayette County EMS District was established in 1976 and has served as the county’s primary ambulance provider out of Washington Court House ever since. The agency is headquartered at 115 E. Temple St. under Director Rodney List.
The information contained in this story was obtained from the Fayette County EMS District.
