Citing financial concerns, one of the city’s most prestigious hospitals will stop providing the 911 system with paramedics next month, officials said.
Administrators at Lenox Hill Hospital said it would still provide the neighborhood with emergency medical technicians (EMTs) — who have less training than paramedics and generally are not permitted to administer medications — to respond to 911 calls after the change takes place on Feb. 10.
The medical center had provided 10 paramedic shifts — offering “advanced life support” services in critical cases such as serious car crashes — daily to supplement those provided by the Fire Department, which manages the city’s Emergency Medical Services, hospital officials said in a statement.
To compensate for the cuts, the FDNY will provide three additional paramedic shifts and another area hospital will provide another three, department officials said.
“They’ll no longer provide the advanced life support resource,” said FDNY spokesman Jim Long. “We’re trying to minimize the impact by studying and knowing the response routine and trying to cover the busiest areas.”
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