'Cold Response' System Changes Way EMS Treats Some Patients

BETHESDA, MD — Next time you call 9-1-1 for a non-life-threatening injury, don't expect to be picked up by an ambulance with lights flashing and sirens blaring. You may not even be taken to a hospital.

It's all part of the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service's latest effort to free up space in emergency rooms for people who need it.

Under this program, local first responders will give "cold responses" to certain less critical patients. That means drivers won't be required to make way for some ambulances, less serious patients won't have to foot expensive hospital bills, and critical patients can get much-needed treatment faster.

Instead of going to a hospital, patients with non-life-threatening injuries may be rerouted to a qualifying urgent care facility.

"If a patient meets a criteria, we're able to take them to (an) urgent care facility. And that not only is more efficient for the patient...in time, but also in money and insurance," Montgomery County Fire and Rescue spokesman Pete Piringer told WDVM.