Ambulance response times raise concerns in Jones County

July 16, 2020

Chip Matthews,

GRAY, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) — Ambulance response times in Jones County are raising questions.

According to Don Graham the Jones County Fire Chief and EMA Director, response times take about an hour in some cases. He says calls have tripled since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The EMA normally receives about 60 calls a month. Now they can get as many as 300.

Right now, the county has only one ambulance. Other ambulances respond to calls from Medical Center Navicent Health in Macon.

Ambulance turnaround time

Graham says the problem is turnaround time.

“Where the problem lies is if they pick up a patient here, take them to the hospital, they either got to wait on the wall or they’ve got to decon and that takes time,” Graham said.

County officials are working to get more volunteers which would help with answering 9-1-1 calls.