City of Blue Island Think Outside the Loop
Related Articles
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Chief Dan Reda
Blue Island Fire Department
2450 Vermont Street
Blue Island, IL 60406
dreda@cityofblueisland.org
708-396-7072
Blue Island Fire Department Responds To Closure of MetroSouth
September 23, 2019, Blue Island, Illinois – In response to the sudden closure of Metrosouth Medical Center, Blue Island Fire Department would like to share information to help answer questions and alleviate resident concerns:
First, Blue Island Fire Department will continue to provide Basic Life Support (BLS) care to the residents of Blue Island just as we always have; that will not change, at least not initially. We’re proposing a plan to City officials to upgrade our services to Advanced Life Support (ALS), which will allow us to offer more advanced care in the way of prehospital delivery. While there are costs associated with this upgrade, we feel it is an investment in this community when we need it most.
Second, the most frequently asked question we’ve been getting is, “What hospital will you be transporting to?” The three closest/likely options are: Ingalls in Harvey (4.5 miles away), Roseland Community Hospital in Chicago (4.9 miles away) and Little Company of Mary in Evergreen Park (5.1 miles away). There are 5 other hospitals that are within 10 miles that we could potentially transport patients to as well.
Third, we will definitely encounter longer travel distances which will result in longer transport times and longer return times back to town, which will have an effect on our ability to respond to other emergencies in the City, whether it be another EMS call or a fire. Our minimum staffing is currently 5 firefighters total and that is distributed amongst two fire stations. On these days, we are utilizing jump companies, which means that rather than have a dedicated ambulance or fire suppression company, the 5 firefighters on staff take the appropriate piece of equipment based on the nature of the call.
On days where staffing is 6 or more, we have a little more flexibility in our staffing model, giving us the opportunity to have a dedicated companies. Our ideal staffing model is 10 a day, which would allow for 2 dedicated ambulance companies with 2 members assigned to each, and 2 dedicated fire suppression companies with 3 members assigned to each. The ideal model would have to be approved and there will be additional costs associated, but once again, we view this as an investment in the community.
No matter the outcome of the days and weeks ahead, the 28 members of the Blue Island Fire Department will continue to provide fire suppression, protection, public education and emergency medical services to the residents of the City of Blue Island in the safest and most efficient ways possible and always with the greatest amount of professionalism.
