By Travis Mounts

City officials in parts of western Sedgwick County are concerned about future plans for Sedgwick County Emergency Medical Services and the potential impact on response times.

Factoring into the concern are two new fire stations. Station No. 39 opened this year on 263rd Street north of MacArthur Road between Garden Plain and Lake Afton. The new Station No. 35 is under construction on 199th Street in Goddard. The new stations will replace the existing Station No. 35, which is located one half-mile north of U.S. 54 on 247th Street West.

Both stations feature bays for EMS units, which is fueling rumors about the future of EMS Post No. 7, located inside the fire station on 247th Street West. That unit serves a broad area, going as far west as Cheney, as far south as Viola, and as far north as Andale and Mt. Hope.

Officially, there are no plans to move that post.

“If it were to move, it would have to come from above me, and I’ve not been directed” to move the post, said interim EMS director Gary Tolle.

Area city leaders said their original understanding was that the EMS units would not move, but the things they hear from residents and from each other are leading some of them to doubt that.

It doesn’t help that one fire department official told Garden Plain officials last month that it was his understanding the post would move.

Garden Plain Mayor Tony Flax wants to see EMS Post No. 7 stay where it is, too.

“I would be thoroughly upset if EMS is moved to Goddard,” he said. Towns outside of Wichita often feel forgotten, he said.

“The official plan was that it was going to stay,” Flax said. He said he hoped that speculation did not prove to be true. “Maybe there hasn’t been a decision made, but all things point that there has been.”

Garden Plain is not the only concerned community.

“We’re concerned about the response and how they will cover our edge of the county,” said Cheney city administrator Randall Oliver. “I think it was an understanding that the EMS station was going to remain” on 247th Street West.

Tolle said that any such decision would come from above him. He described the decision as “medical and political.”

Response times

Andale police chief Junior Lubbers said he would be concerned about the post moving to Goddard.

“There would be probably another three minute delay in response,” he said. That timing can be crucial in a critical situation, he said.

Andale also is served by the Mt. Hope EMS department. That department – the oldest volunteer EMS department in the state according to its director, Sondra McCurry – has eight emergency medical technicians and five drivers, but no paramedics currently. It is a type 2 ambulance service, providing basic life support but it doesn’t transport the most critical cases.
In her coverage area, which includes the Greeley and Sherman townships, both Mt. Hope and Sedgwick County respond to calls. Depending on the situation, one or the other may be sent back before arriving.

She said her department has not seen any issues with response times from Sedgwick County. Her biggest issue is maintaining the department. She said Mt. Hope and Greeley Township receive a refund of a health care tax that would otherwise go to Sedgwick County. The city provides no direct funding.

“We have to depend on volunteer contributions and run money,” she said. Similar-sized cities spend $100,00 to $200,000 to fund an EMS department. So far, her department has not charged passengers if their insurance didn’t the service or if the person was uninsured.

But Cheney fire chief Brad Ewy said response times are becoming an issue as Sedgwick County EMS responds to more calls in Wichita, especially on the growing west side. He cited a recent call that took 23 minutes for an ambulance to arrive.

As units respond to calls, other units will reposition themselves in other areas of the county. Tolle said it’s a system that is computerized and continually monitored.

“It’s like running a zone defense,” he said. Relocating trucks as others are on call has always been a long-time procedure.

“As Wichita gets busier and busier, they’re pulling that unit out of Fire Station No. 35,” he said. He said a move of the EMS post to Goddard would increase response times.

McCurry said she is less concerned about response times by Sedgwick County. The county has an EMS post just off of Maize Road between 37th Street North and 45th Street North. That unit is responding to the northwest part of the county more frequently.

“We haven’t seen much difference in response time,” she said.

Lubbers said Mt. Hope EMS usually arrives before Sedgwick County EMS. At six miles away, the Mt. Hope EMS unit is three miles closer than Sedgwick County EMS Post No. 7.

Ewy said he’s worried that Cheney will be forgotten in future plans as Wichita continues to get bigger.

“It concerns me that you pay the amount in taxes,” he said. “We need to base it on time, not call volume.”

Tolle said the history of calls suggests probabilities, and that information is used for planning. Population is one factor, he said, but so are the quality of roads, response times and other requirements.

“”When you’re in a remote area, you’re going to be further away from all kinds of services,” he said. “When you drive towards one (population group) you’re driving away from another.”

Future plans

The 2011 Sedgwick County budget includes plans for a new EMS post.

Where that post will go, however, is not known. Tolle said planning won’t begin until the fourth quarter of 2010, and it’s not known how soon the new post will be up and running.

Viola Mayor Ronda Mollenkamp said her town feels forgotten. Located on the Sedgwick-Sumner County line in the southwest part of the county, it’s one of the smallest towns in the county and one of the most remote.
She has heard the rumors of EMS Post No. 7 moving to Goddard.

“That’s what really concerns me,” she said. “We’ve got quite a few medical calls out here.”

Viola does have it’s own volunteer EMS department, but like Cheney has no way to transport patients.

She would like to see an EMS unit stationed in the new Fire Station No. 39 on 263rd Street West, also known as Viola Road. She said she’s pleased with the response time of EMTs located in that station.

“The response time is probably eight to 11 minutes quicker,” she said.

An EMS unit in that location would cut down on response times to Garden Plain, as the truck would not have to enter and exit Highway 54. Response times to Cheney would be faster, too, as the crews could travel straight west on MacArthur Road.

According to information in the county’s 2011 budget, only on of the county’s 13 EMS posts has a lower call volume that EMS Post No. 7, which handles about 800 calls each year. The busiest posts handle 4,000 or more. EMS Post. No. 7 covers the largest area, however, with 355 square miles. Most of the county’s other posts cover 50 square miles or less.

Any decision regarding EMS will be made independently of Sedgwick County Fire District No. 1. They are separate departments, and EMS covers the entire county. The fire district covers unincorporated areas of the county and towns that don’t have their own fire departments.