A CASE OF EMERGENCY

MAYOR NUTTER'S announcement yesterday that he wants to add $3.8 million to the upcoming city budget to improve the response of emergency medical services personnel reminded us of something. Oh yeah -

that's

what city government's supposed to do: protect its residents.

It's not protection when, according to a city-controller report, there's only a 60-percent chance that an ambulance will reach you within nine minutes of a 911 call. That's endangerment.

Nutter's action to mend life-threatening gaps in the undermanned and overworked emergency medical services safety net looks promising: five more service units, money for 40 new medics and overtime pay, supplies and equipment. More units will be available when calls are the greatest.

But this can't be the end. The city and the fire department must make improving this system an ongoing priority. That includes fast-tracking the 311 system, which has eased the burden of 911 calls in other cities. Response times must continue to be monitored and improved. The city must continue with insurance carriers who should pay higher fees to the city for transporting their patients. And though it sounds easy and practical, the merger of private ambulance services with city services is fraught with legal, union, and medical command issues, which the fire department says it's examining.

The department says that the issue of recruiting from outside the city isn't an issue in the EMS crisis, because their classes are full. That's not exactly reassuring. Fixing this critical service takes more than filling seats; those seats should be filled with the best candidates drawn from the biggest pool possible. Only then should the city allow itself to sleep better at night. *