Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Emergency Services topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Mission EMS honored by DHR Health; ambulance board reports fast response times and rising collections
Summary
City of Mission paramedics and firefighters were recognized by DHR Health for life‑saving actions, and the Ambulance Board reported a 6:47 average response time, $1.5 million in cash collections from October–April and recurring capacity gaps when units overlap.
Mission city officials and partners formally recognized members of Mission Fire and EMS on Monday after DHR Health credited local crews with bringing a severely injured patient directly to an operating room, bypassing the emergency department.
The recognition preceded a quarterly ambulance board presentation that highlighted the local EMS system’s performance, billing collections and operational constraints.
DHR Health director of EMS Daniel Tuttle, who introduced the presentation, praised Mission’s crews for their “quick thinking and heroic actions.” “Your EMS department, fire department has done so much to care for your community,” Tuttle said.
Dr. Shine, a trauma surgeon at DHR Health, described the case that prompted the recognition and said the receiving hospital now runs an “operating room from the field” pathway for certain critically injured patients. “Without their skill, their ability to bring this patient to us immediately and directly to the Operating Room … I really do believe this patient would have had a different outcome,” Dr. Shine said, and added the patient has since survived and been seen in clinic.
Following the awards, Tim Brown, chairman of the Ambulance Board, gave the board’s quarterly report. Brown told council the city’s average ambulance response time — measured from call receipt to ambulance arrival — is 6 minutes, 47 seconds, notably better than the 11‑minute national benchmark he cited. He noted that fire engines with EMTs or paramedics often arrive before ambulances and that first‑responder presence is not included in the 6:47 figure.
Brown described recurring operational limits when multiple calls overlap: “If you look at this, you can see where 59% of our calls are overlapping,” he said, and reported that during March there were roughly 10 occasions when mutual aid was required because no medic unit was available.
On the billing side, Brown said the city’s vendor Emergicon has found payers for about 86% of calls; the board reported cash collections of about $1,500,000 from October through April. Brown said the EMS billing and quality‑assurance processes have reduced coding errors and helped collections.
Council members and staff praised EMS personnel and the Ambulance Board’s effort. Councilwoman Jessica Otero singled out two staff members for documentation work that supports billing and collections. Chief Silva and other department representatives accepted the recognition and thanked the council and DHR Health.
No formal council action was required for the award presentation or for the Ambulance Board’s informational report.
