City of Flint partners with STAT EMS to improve emergency response times

FLINT, Mich.— September 15, 2022

The City of Flint has entered into an agreement with STAT EMS to provide dedicated service to the city, with the goal of reducing response times and providing consistent, equitable service for Flint residents.

“This partnership will bring Flint residents faster service and higher quality service,” Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley said. “I want to make sure Flint residents know that their lives and their safety are valued and prioritized, and residents can expect consistent emergency response across the city, no matter where they live.”

The partnership comes at no cost to the City of Flint. A non-monetary contract allows the Genesee County 9-1-1 Consortium Board to recognize the agreement between the City of Flint and STAT EMS, as they have for other municipalities and service providers. Genesee County 9-1-1 will need to update their system to dispatch STAT EMS by default within the City of Flint, and STAT EMS will initiate dedicated response services within 30 days.

STAT EMS will continue to work with mutual aid partners to respond to calls. Banks EMS is the preferred subcontract provider for the City of Flint. Both STAT EMS and Banks EMS are headquartered in Flint, and Banks is the only Black-owned ambulance service in Genesee County.

STAT EMS will provide monthly data reporting to the City of Flint. Data on response times within the City of Flint is not readily available right now. Mayor Neeley says he looks forward to having accountability measures in place when STAT EMS initiates service.

“This partnership with STAT EMS will allow us to have accurate data on emergency response times within the City of Flint, and we’ll be able to take action to improve response times as a result,” Mayor Neeley said. “Even with our current lack of data, we know that faster response times are achievable because STAT EMS and Banks EMS are located right here within the City of Flint. We’re done with randomly assigned EMS providers who are trying to get here quickly from far outside the city limits.”

Marc Lund, President & CEO of STAT EMS, says the goal is to respond to priority 1 calls within 8 minutes, 90% of the time. Priority 1 calls encompass the most life-threatening emergencies, and response times for those calls should not be longer than 10 minutes.

For non-life-threatening priority 2 calls requiring lower-level emergency response, STAT EMS is committed to arriving in 11 minutes or less 80% of the time, not to exceed 15 minutes.

According to Lund, the goal is to have 10 ambulances available within the City of Flint during peak service times. STAT EMS will operate out of City of Flint police mini stations, fire stations, and neighborhoods.

Lund said that operating out of homes in residential areas is a priority for STAT EMS, and that this strategy can help improve response times. “We think that this helps improve the awareness of essential public services in the community,” Lund said. “It helps us coordinate with essential services like fire and police, especially since we know that fires often happen in distressed areas.” The company owns one home on the west side of the city and would like to purchase vacant homes in other distressed residential areas.

Flint City Council President Dennis Pfeiffer has been advocating for dedicated ambulance service for the past 8 months. At a press conference this morning, Mayor Neeley referred to Pfeiffer as the visionary behind this partnership.

“Right now, our residents are waiting for ambulances that may be in Montrose or Fenton,” Pfeiffer said. “The response time for emergency services is just too long.”