Emergencies is what I was asking him about. If minutes matter for heart attacks or strokes, it makes no sense to wait here 15-20 minutes for an ambulance vs getting to the hospital on our own in 15. I’d like to think an ambulance could be here more quickly, but I’ve witnessed car accidents nearby, twice calling in ambulances myself via 911. They aren’t on the scene quickly. It would take even longer if the closest one were already busy.
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That is a long wait for an ambulance! Guess that is very location dependent.
No doubt. It seemed like ages at one of the car accidents where a baby was hurt. Police and fire were there sooner. A police officer even called again for an ambulance and was told it was on the way.
That intersection gets a fair number of crashes. I always make a point to be super careful when I’m coming up to it.
You should always call 911 in a medical emergency as the response is more than just an ambulance ride to the hospital. You also get paramedics who can initiate treatment in the field and are in contact with physicians at the hospital emergency department. In case of a stroke, EMS knows where the comprehensive stroke centers are (which the general public would not be expected to know) and are able to notify the hospital to activate the stroke team while they are enroute.
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Another factor with ambulances is where they will go. Some in my area will only go to a few local hospitals. However, we have a first class trauma specialty center 20 mins away and (depending on the company - I called to ask) they will not go that far. Neither will they go to the world-class hospitals in a major city near us that are 25 minutes away.
So I guess it is location-specific as well as ambulance company specific!!
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I worked with a couple that built a home on the beach in Belize. They had a condo in San Francisco and the house in Belize that they would travel to every few months. Belize was supposed to be where they would retire, but a few years ago they felt that the country was not nearly as safe as it had been and they sold the house. I have lost touch with them so I don’t know if they decided to retire someplace else out of the US.
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Interesting. Here the hospitals advertise being stroke, cardiac, or trauma centers, sometimes on large billboards.
For us in our location we’ll still drive to the hospital if we can, calling first. I think being in a hospital with doctors beats being at home waiting for an ambulance when the time period is quite similar and could be longer. We’re also in a location where we’ve never had to wait in the ER in our local hospital. I’m sure other places are different.
Of course, what I might do is call my neighbor to see if he’s home. He’s an ER and ICU nurse.
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Speaking of Belize, the country is now on the CDC dog rabies list. Can’t simply travel back to the US with your pup if you stayed there long enough (like one couple we once met in one airport did).
If in a location where waiting for the ambulance to arrive would create a significant delay, would calling the ambulance to meet you halfway there minimize the time getting to the hospital, while having paramedic attention for at least part of the journey?
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I have no idea, but that doesn’t sound easy to do TBH. If we needed to we could drive to the paramedic station (other direction) and wait for people to show up (often volunteer). I honestly don’t know if they keep someone there at all times or not, esp if they happen to be out on another call.
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In the case of heart attack, at least where I live the ambulance can do an EKG and send the response ahead to the hospital. When you arrive at the hospital, not only will the cardiac team be there ready to help you immediately, they will even know something about the heart attack.
And yes, they do give some treatment as well.
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I was thinking of situations like
A — B — C
A = where you are in a remote area.
B = mid way point between A and C.
C = where the hospital and ambulance base are.
Suppose A is 20 minutes from B, and B is 20 minutes from C. If you wait at A for the ambulance to come to A to pick up the person, then the time would be 40 minutes for the ambulance to get to A, plus 40 minutes to take the person to C (total 80 minutes, including 40 minutes before paramedics arrive). If you bring the person to B while calling the ambulance to meet you at B, then the time will be 20 minutes to get to B, plus perhaps 5 minutes to transfer to the ambulance, plus 20 minutes to get to C (total 45 minutes, including 20 minutes before reaching paramedics).
Analogues would be medical emergencies in places where ambulances cannot get to, such as on a train, airplane, or boat. In such cases, the ambulance is called to go to the nearest train station, airport, or marina that the train, airplane, or boat can get to and pick up the person there.
Wow! This is shocking! My sister in law in Spain had a stroke and her outcome was fenomenal thanks to a specialized response system they have there that took care immediately.
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It’s 15 minute for us to get from house to hospital. It’s 10 minutes in the opposite direction to get to the closest EMT if they aren’t out on another call and if they don’t have to call people in who might take longer to get there pending where they are at. Then it’s 15 minutes from there to get to the hospital.
I’m seriously thinking it’s quickest for us to just go to the hospital calling ahead. The only way it works out faster is if they are already at the station ready to go and then it’s just 5 minutes faster. If not though, it could be a bit longer. I seriously doubt 911 would know when I called.
I’m not sure at all how the EMT station is staffed since it’s mostly volunteer. I know when we hear sirens for fire I was told 1 is a standby call and 2 is calling firefighters in. They leave what they are doing and go to the station or directly to the fire by whatever system they have.
I don’t know if either have some who hang around the station waiting for calls, and if so, during what hours. One of my 911 calls was in the darkness of early morning Nov - that one took over half an hour to get anyone to it, but no one was seriously injured. Our biggest worry was someone driving along the road not being able to see the accident in time to stop. It shocked the bejeebers out of me to come across it. We parked our car with the hazards on at the top of a hill and hoped we’d be able to flag down anyone else coming the other way. It worked, but it was scary.
The other was during the day at the bad intersection. I was on my way home from school. The baby was injured as were their parents, though likely not life threatening. Service was quicker, but not what I would call quick. I’d have expected faster if EMTs were already at the station.
My parents are in a similar situation. They are 30-45 min from the nearest medical facility. I have no idea where the nearest rescue squad is, but it would not be close and I’m sure it’s volunteer. I asked my firefighter/paramedic friend what they could do and she suggested calling 911 on the way and meeting them somewhere in between. Sounds reasonable, but sort of tricky to coordinate during an emergency.
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How has retiring outside the US turned into EMS response times?
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Comparing medical issues as we age overseas vs here in the US. For us, there won’t be much difference. For others, they feel what they have here in the US beats anything overseas (or at least anywhere they might want to retire overseas).
What’s around in the US differs considerably. I suspect that’s the same with overseas TBH.
Regardless, if we’re talking retirement, knowing what medical care is around could be useful IMO and knowing it’s not all as simple as Country X has this and Country Y does not is also important. One needs to look at the specifics of where they will be and consider how it might affect them, esp for the biggies as one ages like heart disease, strokes, and cancer.
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Because most/many Americans are under the impression that the best medical care possible is only in the US…
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