Cole County EMS sets new record in calls for service in 2024
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
Cole County EMS set a new record in 2024, responding to 13,626 calls for service, an increase from 12,315 in 2023, according to the county's annual report.
That marks an increase of 1,311 in calls.
Traffic crashes were the biggest call category with EMS responding to 985 of them last year.
Cardiac arrest calls came in at 115, while EMS responded to 37 opioid overdose calls and 24 weapons offenses.
The latest significant incident on Nov. 30 last year was a house explosion in the 2400 block of St. Louis Road. Eight ambulances, three chief officers and three medical helicopters responded. Seven people were injured and were either taken to a hospital by ambulance or helicopter.
The county says 99% of 911 calls and administrative calls were answered within 10 seconds and in total the county processed 20,815 calls.
Chief of Medical Services Eric Hoy says Cole County EMS is on track to break a record in 2025 as EMS responded to 1,130 calls in February and 1,256 in January.
"1,300 call volume increase for 2024, we're seeing that again already for the first two months of 2025 we're on about a pace of 15,000 calls," Hoy said.
While traffic crashes were the biggest call category, Hoy says it is several factors driving the increase.
Hoy says, "911 realted calls, calls to move people from hospitals to other health care facilities, it's not any one section or any one call type."
To improve response times, Cole County EMS opened a new headquarters last year in downtown Jefferson City on Adams Street.
The $5 million facility was partially funded by a $2 million Community Development Block Grant.
This was after years of the county not having a building downtown, which is where the majority of EMS calls come from, according to Cole County EMS Chief Eric Hoy. For decades EMS operations were served out of a temporary spot inside the law enforcement center.
The average response time in 2024, according to the report, was 7 minutes and 19 seconds.
The time on scene averaged 19 minutes and 36 seconds, while the transport time from the scene to the hospital was an average 18 minutes and 19 seconds.
"By being able to effectively handle the resources here in the city it allows our county stations to respond more efficiently to emergencies in the further reaches of our response area." Hoy said.
The annual report says in 2024 the total revenue was $10,640,297 with 49% of cost going toward fees for service.
Hoy says so far this year there has not been a time when an ambulance has not been available in Cole County.
As far as staffing, Hoy says they are currently fully staff and can handle the call volume but they are looking into hiring more staff next year.
