BOSTON (WHDH) - It’s a worse case scenario. You call 9-1-1 for an emergency but there isn’t an ambulance around.
Those at the State House on Wednesday say it’s a growing issue statewide.
A Winthrop mother testified on Beacon Hill about a family tragedy.
Andrea Feeley told lawmakers about her 2-year-old daughter who went into cardiac arrest in January 2024.
She called 9-1-1 and waited for the ambulance.
“They stayed on the line and I remembered the moments which felt like an eternity frantically asking if the ambulance was coming? Where are they? What’s taking so long? Are they close?” Feeley recounted.
The ambulance never came. The fire chief rushed the child to Mass General Hospital in his SUV. A pair of firefighters performed CPR along the way.
The young girl did not survive.
“I honestly feel if an ambulance were available, Yuna would have had a better chance at survival. We miss her every day and keep her memory alive in our daily lives,” Feeley said.
Action Ambulance CEO Michael Woronka says this nightmare scenario is more familiar than many might believe.
“You made the best decision at that point and time, and unfortunately providers in the commonwealth are placed in those situations every single day,” Woronka said.
Feeley’s testimony came before a joint committee considered a pair of bills seeking to address the state’s EMS system.
One of the bills would create a special commission, which would look at ambulance workforce shortages and accountability standards for EMS agencies to avoid what Woronka calls “level zero,” when ambulances simply aren’t available.
The other bill would tackle reimbursement rates for ambulance companies traveling large distances.
“So this is happening across the entire state and we also have an even bigger problem with not being able to move patients our of emergency rooms and hospitals,” said Woronka.
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