- Indio has three ambulances with two paramedics per ambulance active at all times.
- There is not a policy in place stating patients will only be taken to JFK. In theory, patients can request any hospital they want (i.e. Eisenhower, Desert Regional, Orange County).
- The ambulance will take patients to the hospital they request as long as the following two scenarios are not taking place:
- The ambulance services are not in a “draw down” situation meaning that two of the three ambulances are already on active calls. It would not be advisable to send the third ambulance a great distance and put the system in risky situation with the community’s needs.
- The patient is deemed in a critical state and they need to get to the nearest hospital ASAP.
- Indio ambulances receive on average 10-12 calls per day with up to 20 calls on busy days. The average time an ambulance run is 1 hour.
- If all three ambulances are active and a call comes in, Plan B is to contact American Medical Response (AMR) and ask: 1. Can they take the call? 2. How long will it take? If AMR is not available, they will reach out to the cover communities (Indian Wells and Rancho Mirage) for their ambulance services.
Customer service is important to the Indio Fire Department. They will grant a patient’s request when possible.
To learn more about the Indio Fire Deparment, visit www.indio.org/your_government/fire/.