In New Orleans, a 12-minute wait can mean the difference between survival and tragedy. For years, high-priority EMS calls often took longer.
Now, about 70% of calls have ambulances reaching patients in roughly 12 minutes, matching the national average, and it’s been a hard-fought turnaround amid staff shortages and high turnover.
Lieutenant Lexi Paquette, New Orleans EMS Public Information Officer, says the progress didn’t happen by chance…