December 11, 2009
Illini Ambulance Strengthens Service In East Moline
For 35 years, Illini Ambulance Service has provided ambulance service for the residents of East Moline. Now, the leading-edge service has a station in the city.
An ambulance will be based in East Moline - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week - at a building located at 730 Avenue of the Cities. Additional rigs and personnel also will be moved to the facility.
The new ambulance garage is ideal because it is highly visible, centrally located and across the street from one of three fire stations in East Moline. The building also offers office and training space.
"The Illini Ambulance Service has already been providing high-quality service with highly-skilled personnel and response times that are quicker than national standards. By moving an ambulance into East Moline, we will be able to provide the same high standard of care, but with even faster response times," said Ken Croken, Vice President of Corporate Communications, Genesis Health System. "By further distributing our staff and equipment, we expect to improve service not only to the people of East Moline, but throughout the entire ambulance district."
Average ambulance response time nationally for urban areas is 8 minutes, 59 seconds. The average response time for Illini Ambulance Service in urban areas, including East Moline, is 6 minutes, 29 seconds.
With the new station, responseready ambulance rigs will be stationed at the Avenue of the Cities location, and one will be primarily dedicated to serving East Moline. There also will be the capability to staff additional ambulances from this location in the event of a weather emergency or other disaster situations.
A 35-year history
The expansion is a milestone in a 35-year history of providing care that began when the former Illini Hospital opened the first hospital-based ambulance service in the Quad Cities. The year was 1974, and no hospital in the area was providing ambulance service.
Today, with eight ambulances and a staff of 64, the Illini Ambulance Service serves the communities of East Moline, Hillsdale, Cordova, Hampton, Carbon Cliff, Barstow, Rapid City, Port Byron, Silvis, Coal Valley and Colona. Assistance also is provided to various other services throughout the area when needed.
Illini Ambulance Service addresses many of the health education needs of the community through a wide range of programs and services.
"We see this East Moline location as a potential hub for us," said Mark Guthrie, Supervisor of Illini Ambulance Service. "We have been running out of space at our location on the Genesis Medical Center, Illini Campus, so this move will open up more room and allow us to house rigs inside, out of the elements.
"By centralizing our operations more, this move is only going to enhance our ability to serve our communities more efficiently and effectively. We're looking forward to having more space while still providing close access to our hospital base on the Genesis Medical Center, Illini Campus."
"We are doing this in the name of public safety to improve our response times," Croken added. "We did a test run from this new location and reduced the response time by 2 minutes."
Multiple locations
Currently, Illini Ambulance Service also is stationed at Port Byron, Colona Fire Department, Coal Valley Fire Department and the Illini Campus in Silvis.
In addition, Illini Ambulance Service also works from remote locations, such as on the Port Byron/Hampton border and at Falcon Farms, a mobile home park community in Port Byron.
"These ambulances do not sit in a garage waiting to be called," Guthrie explained. "They often are in motion, moving throughout the area, and ready to respond when called." Guthrie added, "This process through data collected allows us the ability to determine where the greatest need may be at any given time. The goal is to have the greatest amount of resources available at the right time and place - based on demand of the operation - while maintaining coverage throughout our service area."
A fluid ambulance service
Illini Ambulance Service uses system status management - or fluid deployment - to strategically position ambulances throughout the communities it serves. Ambulances are positioned based on the number of ambulances available, the call volume and the territory to be covered.
There is constant, real-time adjustment of the ambulances throughout the IIlini Hospital District service area. System status management ensures the patient in need is getting the closest ambulance every time.
"The goal is to put resources in the most centralized location for the call demand, so response time is reduced," explained Chris Webster, EMS System Coordinator. "Illini Ambulance has stations that people can physically see. They also have remote locations where ambulances are deployed.
"When one ambulance goes out on call, another ambulance is moved to a remote location, so they can be at a more strategically located position. It's all based on how many ambulances are available and what the demand is at any one given time."
MEDIC Emergency Medical Services serves as the dispatch center for Illini Ambulance Service and has the sophisticated technology and dispatchers to make system status management possible.
"With system status management, the ambulance is moved to a more strategic location based on the demand at the time," Webster said. "That's different than the traditional fire department- based plan that responds from one, static location."
In the future, new technology will give more up-to-date information via data and GPS to determine which crew is closest to the call. "Now, we have the data and can show where the demand is, but with additional technology we will actually be able to drill that down to the block and the street," Guthrie said.
