Hospital staff and first responders press council on EMS transfer capacity, staffing and equipment

Hospital staff, doctors and Altus first responders addressed the city council and provided a detailed account of problems and recent progress in inter‑facility EMS transfers, saying the issue affects patient care and can impose large costs when flight transport is required.

Ginger McLaughlin, an emergency physician who identified herself as an ER doctor at the local hospital, said that prior to April the local EMS service accepted fewer than 50% of transfers that needed transport to larger facilities such as Lawton, Wichita Falls or Oklahoma City. "Over half of those people, we were having to use either another EMS service from surrounding areas," McLaughlin said, adding that that forced the hospital to rely on outside services and sometimes on costly air transport.

McLaughlin said there has been "a lot of improvement" in the three weeks before the meeting and that transfer acceptance rose to roughly 62% in the past month, but she and other clinicians said gaps remain. She noted that the hospital’s ventilator equipment situation had been a limiting factor and that a ventilator obtained three weeks earlier had arrived broken; hospital staff had offered hospital ventilators previously but responding crews required training.

"We can't take transfers after 10 p.m." said Dr. Clay, identified as director of the emergency department, describing a policy to avoid non‑emergent transfers during late‑night hours for safety reasons. He and the fire chief reiterated that safety is a primary consideration: crews face fatigue and weather risks, and late‑night long‑distance transfers can create multi‑hour turnarounds.

The fire chief, who spoke on behalf of the department, said the department staffs three ambulances 24 hours a day and that last year the department performed a little over 400 transfers, roughly 1.5 per day, many to Oklahoma City with six‑ to seven‑hour turnarounds. He confirmed the department is planning to budget for new ambulances in the coming fiscal year and to acquire at least one 4‑wheel‑drive unit in response to weather/access needs.

Dr. Wharton, the medical director for the ambulance service, emphasized the distinction between 9‑1‑1 emergency response (a statutory mandate) and inter‑facility transfers, which Oklahoma statute excludes from the 9‑1‑1 duty, and said the transfer issue is common across the state. "Inter facility transfers are excluded from that," he said, describing staffing, finances and equipment as the primary constraints and noting the service has paramedic students who should graduate in about six months.

EMTs and paramedics who spoke from the floor described operational pressure on crews, the safety calculus for long night‑time transfers, and the emotional toll of making those decisions. One EMT, speaking as an "EMT basic," said crews are told not to take non‑emergent transfers past 10 p.m., and that taking prolonged night transfers risks crew and patient safety.

Hospital leaders and clinicians asked for improved communication and regular updates. City staff said they are budgeting for ambulances this year, have placed a 4‑wheel‑drive ambulance on the equipment list, are building a new fire/EMS station that will expand housing and staffing capacity, and plan continuing coordination among the city manager, fire leadership and hospital stakeholders.

The council did not take formal action on EMS operations at the meeting but directed staff to continue coordination, provide budget details and report progress in follow‑up meetings.

"The dialogue today was great," the mayor said in closing the public conversation and asked staff to bring updates back to council. The exchange included requests for quarterly updates and commitments to continue joint training and equipment procurement discussions.