{"id":335619,"date":"2026-05-28T06:49:29","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T06:49:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/335619\/"},"modified":"2026-05-28T06:49:29","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T06:49:29","slug":"sacramento-audit-says-non-emergency-ems-calls-cost-millions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/335619\/","title":{"rendered":"Sacramento audit says non-emergency EMS calls cost millions"},"content":{"rendered":"

The audit estimated those responses cost about $4.6 million in staffing, maintenance, fuel, repairs and operations.<\/p>\n

SACRAMENTO, Calif. \u2014 A Sacramento\u00a0<\/a>audit found the city\u2019s emergency medical response system is struggling under growing demand, with non-emergency calls, hospital delays and outdated policies putting increasing strain on the Sacramento Fire Department\u2019s EMS division.<\/p>\n

The May 2026 audit reviewed Sacramento Fire Department EMS operations from dispatch to hospital offload and found low-acuity incidents continue to consume a significant amount of department resources.<\/p>\n


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Out of more than 98,000 incidents reviewed in 2024, about 61,000 were medical calls and roughly 18,000 were considered low-acuity or non-emergency incidents, Sacramento Auditor Farishta Ahrary said during a budget and audit committee meeting.<\/p>\n

Ahrary said personnel responded to non-emergency incidents \u201cabout 30% of the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

The audit estimated those responses cost about $4.6 million in staffing, maintenance, fuel, repairs and operations.<\/p>\n

The report also found about 20% of incidents were homelessness-related, with downtown and midtown Sacramento seeing the highest concentration of calls.<\/p>\n

To reduce strain on the system, the audit recommends expanding alternative response systems including nurse triage lines, behavioral health crisis hotlines, rideshare transportation to clinics and urgent care facilities, and mobile integrated health teams.<\/p>\n

The audit also highlighted ambulance patient offload delays at hospitals, where paramedics wait to transfer patients because emergency rooms are overcrowded.<\/p>\n

According to the audit, Sacramento Fire ambulances spent roughly 7,000 hours beyond county offload standards in 2024, costing about $970,000 in ambulance operating costs.<\/p>\n

Ahrary said ambulances averaged an additional 21 minutes per patient beyond county standards in 2024. County standards are also tightening from 30 minutes to 20 minutes beginning in January.<\/p>\n

The audit found the department met the National Fire Protection Association\u2019s 60-second turnout benchmark only 60% of the time instead of the recommended 90%. Dispatch answer times also fluctuated and did not consistently meet NFPA standards.<\/p>\n

The audit also identified issues with EMS quality improvement systems, including outdated policies, expired credentials in tracking systems and patient survey data that was not fully integrated into investigations and accountability systems.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbout 85 % of the policies in the EMS division had not been updated in more than 25 years,\u201d Ahrary said.<\/p>\n

Ahrary said the department has already started addressing some of the concerns raised in the audit.<\/p>\n

Some of those alternative response programs are already operating out of newly reopened Sacramento Fire\u2019s Station 140 in South Natomas.<\/p>\n

The station serves as the home base for Sacramento Fire\u2019s Street Overdose Response Team, Mobile Crisis Unit and the department\u2019s new Mobile Integrated Health program.<\/p>\n

Sacramento Fire Capt. Justin Sylvia said the Mobile Integrated Health program sends paramedics alongside nurse practitioners or physician assistants to treat some patients without transporting them to emergency rooms.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo far they have already had a 42% diversion rate from the emergency room,\u201d Sylvia said. \u201cSo that’s just great data that we are retrieving on its infancy stages to show how effective that unit can be.\u201d<\/p>\n

The department is also continuing to use Medic Ambulance for less serious calls with the goal of keeping advanced units available for major emergencies while expanding alternative response programs across Sacramento.<\/p>\n

WATCH ALSO:\u00a0California seniors could face stricter Medi-Cal savings limits again<\/a><\/p>\n

ABC10: Watch, Download, Read<\/p>\n


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