Lake-Sumter EMS WhentoCall911.com

About the Program

Category: Civic Education and Public Information (Best in Category)

Year: 2010

Faced with an industry-wide problem of an ever increasing volume of non-emergency requests for ambulance service, Jim Judge, Executive Director of Lake-Sumter EMS (LSEMS) took a unique step to educate people on how to make the right call in an emergency by launching a public education program called WhentoCall911.com. The focus of the program is to educate people to know who, how, and when to call for help in an emergency, what to do while waiting for an ambulance and what information should be gathered to help emergency personnel when they arrive on scene. Launched in August 2008, the campaign consists of billboards placed along highways, flyers and posters distributed at community events and presentations, advertising in local newspapers and magazines and the web site WhentoCall911.com. Lake Sumter EMS estimates that about 10 percent of its calls are for non-emergencies, and that this campaign has cut that number in half. This reduction has the effect of saving tens of thousands of dollars by lowering the cost of providing ambulance service, as well as reducing write-offs.