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County partners test alternative ambulance response after Rockledge hospital closure announcement
Summary
Brevard County fire and emergency services launched a trial routing low-acuity calls to a private ambulance provider after Orlando Health Rockledge announced upcoming closure; county staff say medical direction and physician oversight remain in place.
Brevard County emergency-management and fire-rescue leaders told commissioners on March 27 they have begun a trial to route low-acuity ambulance calls to Coastal Ambulance Service after Orlando Health notified the county weeks earlier that Orlando Health Rockledge would close.
County Chief (on record during the meeting) said the trial began this week and so far Coastal Ambulance Service has handled six patient transports in about 96 hours of operation, covering low-acuity needs such as minor illness or conditions (“toothache, rash,” and “someone having trouble sleeping,” the chief said). He said Coastal crews receive physician consultation on each transfer and that medical direction physicians are on 24/7 call and will move to 24-hour shifts as the trial expands.
The chief described a phased rollout: two ambulances in Merritt Island this week, expanding to four the next week, then extending to Cocoa and Rockledge in subsequent weeks, and adding a fifth ambulance serving Port St. John/Canaveral Groves. He said those units will operate on “system status” — meaning they are dispatched where needed rather than being fixed to one neighborhood — and that county fire stations and Coastal crews are already coordinating on logistics and rest breaks.
Why it matters: county staff framed the trial as a near-term step to preserve emergency coverage and redirect low-acuity calls away from higher-acuity hospital-focused transport needs after the pending hospital change. Staff emphasized physician oversight and physician-to-provider consultation for transfers handled by Coastal Ambulance Service.
County commissioners asked no technical medical questions in the recorded update but acknowledged the partnership; no formal vote or contract approval took place in this meeting. The chief invited commissioners to raise questions if they had them and indicated staff would continue updates as the trial proceeds.
Looking ahead: the county did not announce any permanent service changes or a final disposition of hospital services during the update. Staff said the trial would scale if it proves effective and that medical direction and physician consultation remain central to the approach.
