Nebraska Ambulance Companies Transporting More Patients to More Distant Hospitals

As the number of coronavirus cases increases, the private ambulance services transporting patients between hospitals report their crews carry more patients and drive longer distances to reach where rooms are available to treat those with the virus.

During the first COVID-19 outbreaks in spring, the transport companies handled hundreds of calls but primarily in concentrated hot-spots in the state.

The fall surge finds the ambulance crews crisscrossing the state with patients. Nursing homes sending residents to local hospitals. Small rural hospitals send the critically ill to medical centers with ICU's.

Dr. Jim Smith, the medical director for Priority Medical Transport based in North Platte, Nebraska, said his eight full-time crews face "just crazy volumes" of calls.

"In November, we're projecting another 100 runs higher than we were in October," Smith told NET News.

As hospitals in west-central Nebraska reach capacity, patients are being sent to facilities well outside the circle they would typically have as backups. Priority Medical finds the increasing travel times and crew fatigue take a toll.

"It's hard on our crews. We're just working tirelessly," Smith said.

"There are transports to Denver, to Omaha, to Lincoln, to Hastings. We're having to take them 200 to 300 miles away. Our crews have longer shifts (and more) overtime because they're not making it back in time at the end of the shift."

In recent days, Nebraska's largest medical transport company, Midwest Medical, has been handling up to 20 transfers a day.

Senior Manager Rick Sheehy said the emergency medical technicians in the field are "seeing more critical patients probably than what we have in the past" while noticing a change in the severity of the respiratory issues when his crews move patients between hospitals.

He reports "a significant increase in the amount of oxygen that we are delivering to patients" with COVID who "are experiencing similar symptoms to pneumonia" and "having shortness of breath."

There have been instances when his crews have moved the population of entire nursing homes because COVID began to sweep through the whole facility. In some cases, that involved relocating 20 to 30 elderly residents in a single day to a new assisted living provider or area hospitals.

The private transports have always supplemented the work of the state's volunteer emergency medical teams. Because of the time commitment, limits on personal protection gear, and the risk to volunteers, there is an increase in the number of transfer calls handled by the private companies.

Sheehy says the hours and emotional strain have taken its toll on the emergency medical technicians staffing the transports.

"Our employees are exposing themselves to (the coronavirus) each and every day, so they really are considered heroes," he said. "They're willing to take that risk of taking care of a person before they think of themselves."

Dr. Smith with Priority Medical Transport agreed, calling his crews "just amazing."

"If you could imagine, these people are sitting in the back of an ambulance for eight hours" on a long haul run, including "four hours, one way, with full PPE on.

"They understand this could be a virus that could kill them," Smith added.

Both companies report they have yet to have a single employee contract coronavirus on the job due to the precautions they've taken.