Calls, response times remain issue in Jackson
BY DAVE BENJAMIN Staff Writer

JACKSON - The vice president of MONOC wants to know where Mayor Mark Seda obtained the statistics he recently cited regarding emergency medical responses in the municipality.

MONOC provides Basic Life Support (BLS) services in Jackson from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days a week and it provides Advanced Life Support (ALS) services in Jackson 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

BLS responses in the evening are provided by the Jackson First Aid Squad.

The issue of emergency medical responses has come up in recent weeks as Seda announced a plan to form a municipal emergency medical services squad and to eliminate the BLS provided by MONOC. Seda had previously cited statistics having to do with the number of calls being answered and response times.

Seda said he received the information from the Jackson Police Department. The police information shows that from March 1 through Sept. 30, 2007, MONOC answered 691 daytime calls in Jackson. Of those 691 responses, approximately 255 calls had a response time of 10 minutes or more, according to the information provided by police.

However, Jeff Behm, MONOC's vice president of operations, said that from March 1 through Sept. 30, MONOC was dispatched to 1,275 daytime calls in Jackson. He said that number includes calls that were canceled after a unit was dispatched. He said he did not know what the 691 calls the police were citing referred to.

Behm said of the responses, MONOC arrived after 10 minutes about 7.7 percent of the time, and that is less (i.e., more efficient) than the 10 percent standard required by Jackson in its specifications for the contracted service.

"I think some of the time when the mayor is trying to put this data together, I don't think he has an appreciation for the actual service we are providing," he said. "Several months ago I thought it would be beneficial for him to meet with me, but unfortunately he has never called me back yet. I would be happy to meet with the mayor to go over his statistics."

Seda said he is planning to hold a meeting to discuss the emergency medical response issue. Following that, he said, the Township Council will review the information, as will the administration.

"I hope people will see it for what it is and accept the fact that there is one decision to make, whether we entertain a Community Service Officer program or whether we use MONOC despite the numbers that are prevalent," the mayor said. "The numbers are what they are."

According to information provided by Jackson police, between March 1 and Sept. 30, the volunteer Jackson First Aid Squad responded to 539 nighttime calls ( 6 p.m. to 5 a.m.). Of those responses, approximately 41 calls had a response time of 16 minutes or more, according to the information.