PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3) — Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter announced plans to add additional medics and ambulances on the streets Monday. The national average for medics to arrive at the scene of a medical emergency is approximately nine minutes. A recent study found Philadelphia meets the average response time only about 60 percent of the time. During a Monday morning news conference, Mayor Nutter said he will approve $4 million in the city’s budget in order to pay for new EMS units and dozens of additional paramedics.
“This is a significant programmatic investment and one of many initiatives aimed towards improving our response times and providing more service to citizens her in Philadelphia,” Nutter said. The move comes in the wake of the death of Holmesburg resident Deborah Payne, 55, who died New Year’s Day. Payne called 911, but it took nearly two hours for an Advance Life Support unit to reach respond to her apartment and get her to a hospital. A fire department report stated that on New Years, traditionally the busiest for EMS calls, the city simply ran out of medics. MORE