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FLINT, MI — The city put its own ambulances into service for the first time in more than 20 years on Tuesday, Oct. 1, aiming to cut down on what officials say are unacceptable wait times for emergency help in Flint.
The first-day dispatch run sheet was routine, including a vehicle accident with injuries, an epileptic seizure, and a person having difficulty breathing, but Mayor Sheldon Neeley said that over time, the service has the potential to save lives.
City officials said they had no choice in making the move because the existing, market-driven private ambulance system in Genesee County is often operating in crisis mode with only one ambulance available to serve Flint and many surrounding areas.
“When I was informed of the dire situation facing Flint residents due to the county-wide ambulance shortage, I immediately directed my team to bring an ambulance service back in-house within the Flint Fire Department,” Neeley said in a statement before a news conference announcing the start of ambulance runs on Tuesday.
“I want to thank Chief (Theron) Wiggins and our entire team for moving so quickly and effectively on this initiative. They understood the assignment: saving the lives of Flint residents. I’m confident that this will have a life-saving impact.”
Flint last provided hospital transports in 2002 but funding and staffing issues ended that program later that same year.
Facing a $38-million deficit and a potential state takeover at the time, former Acting Mayor Darnell Earley ended the program as part of a broader budget cut that included layoffs in Flint’s police and fire departments.
Earley was later named one of Flint’s emergency managers but served as acting mayor in 2002 after the recall of the late Mayor Woodrow Stanley.
The city said its fleet of three new ambulances — purchased with funds from its part of a national opioid settlement and American Rescue Plan Act funds — are being staffed by firefighters who are certified emergency medical technicians.
Officials said Tuesday that two ambulances will be in service around the clock, with a third rig available if a primary ambulance is out of service for repairs.
The City Council started making vehicle purchases for the program in March.
Neeley said he believes response times in Flint, which a fire official said average from eight to 20 minutes, could be cut in half because of the addition of city ambulances.
Candice Mushatt, who represents the 7th Ward on the Flint City Council, said the additional ambulances will help the response to frequent drug overdoses in the city.
The city said in a news release on Tuesday that firefighters have previously administered Narcan to overdose victims who have remained stranded for up to an hour, waiting for emergency transports for further treatment.
Officials said the city’s ambulance operation was approved by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and the Genesee County Medical Control Authority.
Neeley said Flint-owned ambulances will operate only inside the city, and private ambulances will still make runs in Flint if they are the nearest available unit dispatched by Genesee County 9-1-1.
Flint is one of the municipalities in the county without a contract for dedicated service from a private ambulance company.
Thirteen communities in the county currently have contracts for dedicated ambulance service, according to the Medical Control Authority, while other communities rely on the nearest available private ambulance.
The city also agreed in 2022 to a contract with STAT EMS to provide dedicated service in Flint but suspended the contract seven months later. STAT eventually ended its transport ambulance service and filed for bankruptcy protection.
Flint’s move to re-establish its in-house ambulance service comes as county officials are taking a deeper dive into issues surrounding the broader emergency transport system here.
In January, the county Board of Commissioners agreed to pay the Greater Flint Health Coalition nearly $222,000 for a top-to-bottom evaluation of the existing EMS system.
The study — led by the coalition with support from staff at the University of Michigan and Michigan State University — is expected to be the most in-depth look at transport ambulance services here since 2006.
During that review, a consultant recommended that the county contract with one or more companies to provide guaranteed average response times even in remote and under-served areas but the recommendation never led to the establishment of such a system.
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