FORT WORTH (WBAP/KLIF)- MedStar officials say medical response trends reveal the fear of COVID-19 is stopping people from calling 911 when they need to.
Matt Zavadsky with MedStar says their response volume is down 19% from January, and ambulance transports to the hospital are down 30%. However, Zavadksy said MedStar’s response statistics and patient outcomes for cardiac arrest victims, may reveal a concerning trend.
Zavadsky said so far in April 2020, MedStar crews responded to 38% more cardiac arrests than in April 2019. Of the patients found to be in cardiac arrest, 54% more patients were pronounced dead on scene in April 2020, than in April 2019.
“Cardiac arrests are the most severe medical issue, your heart has stopped and essentially you have died,” said Zavadsky. “Our fear is that people are waiting too long, they are ignoring their chest pains and their difficulty breathing because they don’t want to go to the hospital and by then we can’t do anything to save them,” he said.
Zavadsky said many patients are reluctant to go to the hospital out of fear of contracting Coronavirus, or because of the restricted visitor policies enacted by many hospitals to help flatten the curve.
Zavadsky stresses the importance for people to call 911 if they feel they are experiencing a medical emergency. “Let the EMS professional come out, this is what we are trained to do, let us evaluate you and provide recommendations for the most appropriate medical care for you,” he said.
He urges people not to wait to call for help, this could save your life.
