Indianapolis Seeks to Curb 911 Abuse
The Indianapolis Fire Department began tracking calls about six months ago.
INDIANAPOLIS --
Hundreds of people are clogging the 911 system in Marion County with frequent, bogus messages about so-called medical emergencies, prompting a study about ways to curb abuse of the system.
In some cases, medical personnel are being dispatched to the same homes hundreds of times, 6News' Jack Rinehart reported. The Indianapolis Fire Department began tracking calls about six months ago.
"We have people … who have 200 to 250 ambulance runs a year -- one person," said Marion County Director of Public Safety Scott Newman. "They have actually used ambulances to get a ride somewhere. They get close to where they want to go, they jump out and walk off."
Emergency medical technicians call the abusers "frequent flyers," and say they're bogging down response to actual emergencies daily.
"There was an individual who called probably at least one a day for several months," said one EMT.
"Christmas day on our shift, we went to his home three times," said another EMT. "Every time we went, we just smiled and said 'Merry Christmas.'"
Another EMT said one diabetic man called as much as three times a day.
"He just wanted to go to the hospital for a free ride," the EMT said.
With each 911 call, "frequent flyers" cost taxpayers about $4,000 and put EMS responders and the public at risk. For many, the ambulance becomes a doctor's office on wheels.
"A lot of our patients don't have other access to the health care system, other than the 911 system," said Dr. Michael Ollinger, a Wishard Memorial Hospital emergency physician.
Indianapolis cast an eye toward Houston, Texas, where the fire department defined a frequent flyer as someone who calls 911 eight or more times in 90 days.
"Probably in the hundreds range within the city and county that fall under that category," said Indianapolis fire Division Chief Scott Isaacs.
IFD officials want to organize mental health experts and social service agencies to help emergency responders focus on the reasons people seek help rather than the sheer number of calls.
"I think that there are a lot of people that we can reach out and touch and give the assistance to decrease the burden on the 911 system," Isaacs said.
A trip to the hospital in an ambulance costs about $400.
Officials hope they can find a way to weed out frequent flyers without denying care to patients truly in need. Until then, medical personnel continue to answer every cry for help and every cry of wolf.
