Letter to the Editor: ERC

Dear Editor,

The July 23 issue of the paper had a story about cutting costs by reducing ambulance calls by 15 percent. I have a question. When a person suddenly gets ill in the middle of the night when should you call a rescue unit?

The pain may be just gas or the start of a fatal heart attack. My idea is to try to seek medical attention. If we can’t afford to run the rescue units, how can we afford to send out paramedics? These people will have to have more training than the EMTs. My advice to people is don’t get sick on the weekend because unless you are extremely critical you will have to wait till Monday to get attention or they will send you home whether you live six blocks or 25 miles from the hospital.

James D. Jensen

Dalton

Editor’s note: The article in question mentioned Emergency Response Care’s intended effort to reduce transports to the hospital once it responds to emergency calls, not an effort to reduce emergency calls. The article explained that ERC would strive to treat some patients at home and to help them stay healthy so they don’t need to go to the hospital. The article never mentioned an effort to cut down on emergency calls.