Muskogee (OK) Police to Provide Transport to Free Up Ambulances

D.E. Smoot Muskogee Phoenix, Okla. (MCT) Escalating numbers of new COVID-19 cases requiring emergency health care or hospitalization continue to hobble local resources. An increase in the number of patients requiring hospitalization and staffing shortages have resulted with a shortage of available hospital beds at area hospitals. As a result, Muskogee County Emergency Medical Service employees have experienced a corresponding increase in the amount of time spent on calls. Extended transports to hospitals in Arkansas, Kansas and Missouri limit the number of ambulances available for other patients. MCEMS assigned an employee to work full time at Saint Francis Hospital Muskogee, where the medic waits with patients until a bed is located. “He’s sitting out there for hours at a time, sometimes because we can’t get a bed,” MCEMS spokeswoman Trish German said. “We’re putting a medic out there to take care of those patients, so we’re able to get that truck back out on the street.” To help address the public trust’s shortage of rolling stock, city councilors authorized Muskogee Police Department to provide transportation for medics. A memorandum of understanding inked Monday night outlines protocols to be followed by police and emergency medical services employees. The arrangement is authorized by rules promulgated by the Oklahoma State Departm...
Source: JEMS Patient Care - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Tags: Coronavirus News News Feed EMS Oklahoma Police Source Type: news