City of Dunwoody and DeKalb County Reach EMS Service Agreement. @AMR_Social @DCFRpubaffairs @ItsInDeKalb

Proposed MOU for Dunwoody City Council Approval & AJC Article

The City of Dunwoody has been working with CEO Michael Thurmond to improve countywide emergency ambulance service by entering into a Memorandum of Understanding with DeKalb County.

“My main objective is to get Dunwoody citizens to the hospital on time and to make sure they receive an enhanced level of Emergency Medical Services. I have worked closely with DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond to come up with an agreement, and I look forward to presenting it to the City Council,” states Dunwoody Mayor Denis Shortal.

“The lives and safety of our citizens are our number one priority,” said DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond. “Mayor Denis Shortal and I have worked cooperatively to ensure the highest level of countywide emergency ambulance service.”

The agreement contains the following key provisions:

•            Defined response times: Defined response times for Advance Life Support calls will include a nine-minute or less, 90 percent response time for critical life threating calls and 15 minute or less, 90 percent response time for basic life support calls.

•            Dedicated ambulances: Two ambulances are already stationed at Fire Stations 18 and 21 in the City of Dunwoody. A third will be posted at Fire Station 12. These units will be dedicated to the service areas of those fire stations which include Dunwoody and parts of Brookhaven, Chamblee and Doraville. The county will also add one additional ambulance unit during the peak hours of 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday-Friday, to meet the needs required by the increased daytime population in the Perimeter Center area. The ambulances serving Dunwoody will be advanced life support units with at least one paramedic onboard.

•            Technology upgrades: Ambulances stationed in Dunwoody will be equipped with upgraded technology, including: GPS capabilities, radio-frequency identification gate access and traffic signal preemption devices. The costs for the upgrades will be shared equally between the City of Dunwoody and DeKalb County.

•            Greater collaboration: The cities within the DeKalb Municipal Association will have an opportunity to give input and review the county’s 2019 request for proposals for a new ambulance transport contract.

•            Monthly reporting: DeKalb County will provide monthly reports to the City of Dunwoody that track ambulance response times.

The agreement will be effective for a one-year term and will automatically renew until a contract with a new ambulance provider containing the material terms of the agreement is signed. The Dunwoody City Council is scheduled to review and vote on the Memorandum of Understanding at the Monday, November 5th, City Council meeting. 

In an article in the AJC, Councilman Terry Nall who has been the champion of this issue looking for improvements stated that this agreement was a step in the right direction. However, “we still await implementation and have accountability and monitoring tasks we require of DeKalb County.”