BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW — As questions loom about ambulance response times in the City of Buffalo, representatives from American Medical Response are expected in front of the Buffalo Common Council, to answer those questions in just under a month.
AMR is a third-party ambulance provider in Buffalo. They're contracted to work with the city, though they've been operating without a contract for three years.
But what do those response times actually look like? The 7 News I-Team has asked but AMR is refusing to answer.
Since Buffalo Common Councilman Mitch Nowakowski sent a letter to AMR, calling response times into question, the 7 News I-Team has been working to find out how delayed ambulances actually are.
The 7 News I-Team obtained a letter sent to AMR, by Buffalo Common Councilman Mitch Nowakowski, explaining some people in his district have been left "without proper care for over an hour or no service at all."
When asked for that information, an AMR spokesperson told the 7 News I-Team:
"American Medical Response is currently assessing the concerns raised by Councilman Nowakowski and Common Council President Chris Scanlon and we look forward to providing a detailed status report to the Buffalo Common Council in September."
But why wait until September, especially if the public is being impacted?
The 7 News I-Team asked for a scale of response times for:
- Calls between January and the end of July 2024
- The average response time
- The highest response time
- The lowest response time
An AMR spokesperson said no. When asked why, the 7 News I-Team was told:
"We will not be sharing any additional information at this time."
The city has even said it could explore the possibility of establishing its own EMS service following AMR complaints.
I-Team Investigator Ed Drantch spoke with Buffalo Police Commissioner Joe Gramaglia about AMR's service in Buffalo.
DRANTCH: Do you see a problem with AMR and its response times?
GRAMAGLIA: There has been issues. I've heard it myself, particularly during the daytime. It's obviously a much busier time...I hear it on the radio - "You're in line for an ambulance" or "It's going to be a significant wait."
DRANTCH: What's the frustration for you, for your officers, especially knowing lives are at stake here?
GRAMAGLIA: The EMTs and the paramedics are extremely dedicated and are working very, very hard. But when you have an officer that gets to an accident with injury and they have someone who's injured in a car and the fire department's there and they're doing what they can do...with the equipment that they have -- you know they're all EMTs -- and there's only so much they can do, but when you hear it's going to be a long wait for an ambulance, that's a problem.
Gramaglia said this is something that needs to be worked out. But when asked if he thinks there should be a city-run ambulance company, the commissioner said that's something he'll leave to the fire department, the mayor and city council to handle.
AMR is scheduled to appear in front of a Buffalo Common Council committee, to testify, on September 10.
