LOUISVILLE (WHAS11) -- What if ambulances could get to you faster during your emergency? A report by the Pegasus Institute suggests that could be possible with a policy change.
Co-Executive Director Jordan Harris was the lead on a report released Wednesday afternoon that took a closer look at ambulance response times in Kentucky, specifically comparing response times in Louisville to cities nearby.
“In Nashville, the response time is 7 minutes and 14 seconds, here in Louisville, the response time is 10 minutes and 19 seconds,” Harris explained, citing national survey data.
That means Louisville ambulances, on average, take three minutes longer to get to a scene than in Nashville.
The study said it’s because Louisville has 13 ambulance providers, which is about half as many as you might see in Nashville.
Why? Because Kentucky requires a Certificate Of Need license or a CON. Harris said without that requirement, more providers could help tackle the 911 calls in Kentucky.
“The more competition you have in an existing market, the more you're going to get lower prices, the more you're going to get innovation, all of the things that come along with that, that Louisville has been cut off from because of having higher barriers to entry and fewer providers in the marketplace.”
WHAS11 News showed the report to Diane Vogel, the Assistant Director at Louisville Metro EMS. She said more isn't always best and could create too much clutter.
“It would be a disservice to say that you're going to put an ambulance on every corner because people also need to use those skills to be good at those skills,” she explained.
She said although Louisville Metro EMS works well with the other providers here in Jefferson County, it's not as simple as sending the closest unit.
“If they set up a geographic boundary, and they say we'll make it only in this particular square, and you have that heart attack on the other side of your square, although I'm the closest resource, it doesn't mean I have to go, and that's not what the community wants.”
Vogel said the Louisville Metro EMS average response time to high priority calls is eight minutes and 52 seconds. The national average is eight minutes.
She said she suggests hiring more people to work for existing providers, rather than adding more ambulance services.
The Pegasus Institute is standing by their findings and plan to get this report in front of lawmakers in hopes of eliminating that CON requirement.
►Contact reporter Heather Fountaine at hfountaine@whas11.com. Follow her on Twitter (@WHAS11Heather) and Facebook.