How EMS Works in Monroe County

Each EMS system varies from area to area, usually within a given county. In Monroe County, each ambulance agency is independently operated and patient care is overseen by a medical director, an M.D. who monitors the care rendered to each patient and assists in training medical providers.

Calling 911 & Dispatch

When you call 911, you are routed to the Monroe County 911 Center in downtown Rochester. A telecommunicator will ask a number of questions of the caller in an attempt to determine if the need is fire, police or EMS related. If medical attention is needed and the call is within the town we serve, the call data is routed to a dispatcher at 911 who in turn sends the “job” to CHS Healthcare. We receive the call via a secure computer, alphanumeric digital pagers and by voice dispatch over a radio frequency.

CHS Healthcare does not have dispatchers in-house 24/7. We do, from time to time, have a few members that volunteer their time to acknowledge calls from the 911 dispatcher, answer phones and greet people at our base. There is not always someone at our headquarters to answer your telephone call. Given this, it is critical that if you wish for CHS Healthcare to respond to assist you, ALWAYS DIAL 911. If you do call our business line for a medical concern, we will ask you to hang up and call 911 instead.

Ambulance Response

Once the call is dispatched to us, we respond immediately. Our average time from “time of dispatch” to going en route is just over one minute. Each EMS call is assigned a priority by the 911 telecommunicator. This priority code determines, in most cases, whether or not we respond to the scene with or without lights & sirens. Our total average response time is approximately 9 minutes depending on the location, priority of the call, time of day and where the ambulance unit is responding from.