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Richmond council votes to route certain 911 medical calls to Richmond Ambulance Authority
Summary
After committee review and public testimony, the City Council approved an ordinance directing the Department of Emergency Communications, Preparedness, and Response to route certain 911 emergency medical calls to the Richmond Ambulance Authority; council asked for a detailed implementation plan and discussed colocation and training.
The Richmond City Council on Tuesday adopted an ordinance requiring that certain 911 emergency medical calls be routed to the Richmond Ambulance Authority (RAA), a change supporters say will improve compliance with national dispatch standards.
Chip Decker, CEO of the Richmond Ambulance Authority, told the council that “when somebody dials 911, they’re looking for the right resource in the right place in the right amount of time,” and that apples‑to‑apples data shows RAA performed emergency medical dispatch at a higher level when it handled those calls. Decker said the RAA board voted to support returning medical dispatch responsibilities to the authority and he urged council to move forward for the benefit of patients.
City administration staff and public safety committee members emphasized the need for a careful implementation plan. The administration’s representative, Donnell, said the city supports the change but wants “an appropriate implementation plan so that we can get it correct,” and noted colocation between DEC (the city’s emergency communications) and RAA could yield operational and fiscal benefits. The administration cited a consultant estimate that colocation might save the city roughly $2–3 million, depending on assumptions.
Council members who led the public safety review pointed to data they said showed system noncompliance when medical calls were routed under the current arrangement. “I have to be frank … the number of calls, the percentage of calls that were not being answered within the required time period was alarming,” Councilwoman Kenya Gibson said, urging action to reduce a reported 29% noncompliance metric. Councilmember Lynch and others described a multi‑month effort to obtain and verify apples‑to‑apples data comparing the two configurations.
Several members urged that the change come with clear steps on staffing, training and an implementation timeline. The ordinance includes a transition period and council members asked the public safety committee and administration to return with a written plan and periodic reports on metrics after the shift.
The ordinance passed with council approval. Councilmembers said they expect follow‑up work to include discussions of colocation, additional staffing resources, and oversight to ensure response times and call‑handling standards improve.
What’s next: council members asked the public safety committee and administration to present implementation details and preliminary reporting, with an expectation of close monitoring and additional committee action as needed.
