CORTLAND, N.Y. 鈥� TLC Emergency Services has announced that it will no longer respond to lift-assist calls in the area.
The decision comes after instances where ambulances were tied up on these calls, requiring assistance from other agencies to handle emergency situations, reported.
鈥淲e were tied up on one of these calls, and we had to call in mutual aid for an emergency call,鈥� TLC Cortland Division Manager Trish Hansen said. 鈥淪o we took a look at it and said that you know, for the lift assist calls where there鈥檚 no injury. We鈥檙e just not going to we can鈥檛 respond anymore.鈥�
Dryden Ambulance President Daniel Tier said could be costly for patients who have fallen.
鈥淭heir response may not be timely,鈥� Tier said. 鈥淎ny injuries that may have occurred are only going to be exasperated by the delay in response to these types of incidents.鈥�
TLC Emergency Services told WBNG that they would continue responding to injury-related calls but lack the staff to handle non-emergency lift-assist calls. However, Tier worries that some injury calls could be mistakenly classified as non-emergencies, leaving first responders unprepared for the situation.
EMS officials in Cortland have expressed concerns about the neighboring department鈥檚 ability to handle these calls. In a statement to WBNG, Cortland County Deputy EMS Coordinator John Tillotson said, in part:
鈥淎s the number of mutual aid requests in Cortland County continues to escalate, neighboring ambulance agencies are increasingly called upon to deploy their ambulances and EMS personnel to handle emergencies outside their own districts. Sometimes this means leaving their primary ambulance service coverage area with reduced or potentially no available EMS coverage while they are doing so.鈥�
