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Average Emergency Response Time

Delivered April 4th, 2018. Contributors: Shannon L., Hans R. and

Part
01
of two
Part
01

Average Emergency Response Time - US

Using the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) average emergency response time data for rural and urban automobile accidents involving fatalities, we have calculated the national average response time to be 9.98 minutes. This information has been entered into row 2, column C of the attached spreadsheet, with the resources used having been entered into row 2, Column D. The methodology and calculations are below.

Methodology

The NHTSA compiles average emergency response time to automobile accidents involving fatalities, but the organization has not released its 2017 data yet, so this report relies on the most recent data available from 2016. The NHTSA segments that data into rural response times and urban response times, so to find an overall national average response time, we have added the rural average and the urban average together and divided by two.

Please note that to access the tables for 2016, you must visit the Traffic Safety Facts Annual Report Tables page, click on "States," then on "States: Emergency Medical Services," then on Table 122 for rural statistics and on Table 123 for urban statistics.

Calculations

In 2016, the national average emergency response time to rural automobile accidents involving fatalities was 12.92 minutes.

In 2016, the national average emergency response time to urban automobile accidents involving fatalities was 7.03 minutes.

To get the overall average, we added 12.92 to 7.03 to get 19.95. Then, we divided by two to get an average response time of 9.975, which rounds to 9.98 minutes.

This is an increase of 0.97 minutes over 2015:

Rural average: 12.63 minutes 
Urban average: 7.18 minutes 

12.63 + 7.18 = 19.81 / 2 = 9.91 minutes

9.98 minutes (2016) minus 9.91 minutes (2015) = an increase of 0.97 minutes.

Conclusion

The national average emergency response times to automobile accidents involving fatalities of 9.98 minutes has been added to the attached spreadsheet.
Part
02
of two
Part
02

Average Emergency Response Time - Cities

We were able to determine that McKinney, TX, Little Rock, AR, and Mesa, AZ, are the top 3 cities based on their average emergency response time. The 3 locations at the bottom of the list regarding average emergency response are Waterbury, CT, Newark, NJ, Albuquerque, NM. For determining the 4 locations placed middle of the list, research showed that there is no public information about the exact average emergency response rate for cities in the middle, because of that we used cities which their average emergency response is public and oscillates closer to 8 minutes, which are Aurora, CO, Hampton, VA, Warren, MI, and Grand Prairie, TX.

methodology

We searched through journalistic, governmental and statistical sources to determine the average emergency response time for the top 3 cities as well as the bottom and the ones in the middle. After an extensive search, we obtained information on the top 50 cities ranked best based on their average emergency response rate and used this data to come up with the top 3 cities. Next, we used a source that included the states that had the worst average response rate, including names of hospitals located in the area, with this information we identified the name of the city where these hospitals operate. Using the previous information was the key to find the 3 locations at the bottom of the list regarding average emergency response. For determining the 4 locations placed middle of the list, our research shows that there is no public information about the exact average emergency response rate for cities in the middle. Because of that, we used cities which their average emergency response is public and oscillates closer to 8 minutes, which is the average nationwide.

our findings

The top 3 cities based on their average emergency response time are McKinney, TX with an average response time of 2 minutes and four phases of emergency management, Little Rock, AR with average response time of 2.33 minutes, and Mesa, AZ average response time of 2.67 minutes. Mesa, AZ has an ongoing test program that could achieve significant changes in how emergency personnel handles calls throughout the United States.

The 3 locations at the bottom of the list with regard to average emergency response are Waterbury, CT with an average response time of 48.06 minutes and their hospital with the slowest response time is Waterbury Hospital, Newark, NJ with an average response time of 42.92 minutes and their hospital with the slowest response time is University Hospital, Albuquerque, NM with an average response time of 41.99 minutes and their hospital with the slowest response time is UNM Hospital. 

For determining the 4 locations placed middle of the list, research showed that there is no public information about the exact average emergency response rate for cities in the middle, because of that we used cities which their average emergency response is public and oscillates closer to 8 minutes, this being the average emergency response time nationwide, and these are Aurora, CO with an average response time of 6 minutes, Hampton, VA with an average response time of 5.80 minutes, Warren, MI with an average response time of 5.67 minutes, and Grand Prairie, TX with an average response time of 5.60 minutes.

Conclusion

Our research brought to our attention that there was 34,439 traffic crashes with fatal consequences in 2016 and we were able to determine that McKinney, TX, Little Rock, AR, and Mesa, AZ, are the top 3 cities based on their average emergency response time. The 3 locations at the bottom of the list with regard to average emergency response are Waterbury, CT, Newark, NJ, Albuquerque, NM. For determining the 4 locations placed middle of the list, research showed that there is no public information about the exact average emergency response rate for cities in the middle, because of that we used cities which their average emergency response is public and oscillates closer to 8 minutes, which are Aurora, CO, Hampton, VA, Warren, MI, and Grand Prairie, TX. The information gathered was added to the spreadsheet. 
Sources
Sources
From Part 01
c

Traffic Safety Facts Annual Report Tables

cdan.nhtsa.gov

SPREADSHEET - Emergency Response Times

docs.google.com
c

TRAFFIC SAFETY FACTS 2015

crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov
From Part 02

Best Cities For When You're In an Emergency | Best Life

bestlifeonline.com
c

Traffic Safety Facts Annual Report Tables

cdan.nhtsa.gov

McKinney, TX - Official Website

mckinneytexas.org

Little Rock, Ar

thv11.com

Mesa,AZ program could spur nationwide changes in EMS care - MyNewsMesa.com

mynewsmesa.com

Reuters/Be prepared for ambulance wait times

reuters.com

The 10 States with the worst emergency response times

wqad.com

University Hospital, Newark, NJ

uhnj.org

UNM Hospital :: UNM Health System | The University of New Mexico

hsc.unm.edu

Waterbury Hospital - A Top Performing and Regional Best Hospital in CT

waterburyhospital.org

Emergency Response Times

docs.google.com