System impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on New York City's emergency medical services.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

To describe the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on New York City's (NYC) 9-1-1 emergency medical services (EMS) system and assess the efficacy of pandemic planning to meet increased demands.

Methods

Longitudinal analysis of NYC 9-1-1 EMS system call volumes, call-types, and response times during the COVID-19 peak-period (March 16-April 15, 2020) and post-surge period (April 16-May 31, 2020) compared with the same 2019 periods.

Results

EMS system received 30,469 more calls from March 16-April 15, 2020 compared with March 16-April 15, 2019 (161,815 vs 127,962; P < 0.001). On March 30, 2020, call volume increased 60% compared with the same 2019 date. The majority were for respiratory (relative risk [RR] = 2.50; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.44-2.56)

SUBMITTER: Prezant DJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7771735 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature