BUFFALO, N.Y. — Non-critical calls, long emergency room waits, and staffing shortages are all areas of its emergency response that AMR says needs improvement.
In a letter sent to Fillmore District Councilmember Mitch Nowakowski, officials from AMR outlined the the current emergency response landscape in the queen city.
The company says it responded to critical calls, such as heart attacks, on an average time of 9 minutes 21 seconds. AMR says there are at least 40 low acuity calls each day in the city.
"Many of which would be more suitable for an alternate transport solution such as Lyft or Uber," AMR said in the letter. "These calls strain the EMS system and take resources away from true medical emergencies."
AMR also pointed out in the letter that they have never received taxpayer funds for its service, and "for many years, has paid franchise fees to exist in the city."
As Councilmember Nowakowski pointed out in his original letter expressing concerns about response time, AMR reiterated that it has operated in the city without a contract since September 2020. In October 2021 the company submitted a formal response to an RFP issued by the city for ambulance service.
"AMR was awarded the contract, and at the Fire Commissioner’s request, AMR drafted an agreement to initiate negotiations and sent it to the City on October 15, 2021," AMR said. "Since then, we have not received any material revisions or questions about the draft, nor have there been any substantive negotiations."
AMR says that they will still meet with council members in September during the first finance committee meeting after the recess.