~ Letter-to-the-Editor ~ Former city councillor seeks funding for additional city ambulance service

Dear Editor,

On January 29, 2024, in Winthrop, a mother’s worst nightmare became reality when her 2-year-old daughter suffered a cardiac arrest which, ultimately, resulted in the toddler’s death. It took one-and-a-half hours – a full 90-minutes – after the toddler’s mother called 911 for an ambulance to arrive to the scene to escort the child to MGH.

Winthrop utilizes the services of Action Ambulance to respond to these types of emergencies. Upon receiving the call for response to the scene, they were unable to dispatch one of their own ambulances due to their fleet responding elsewhere. They contacted their mutual aid network, including Cataldo Ambulance, Armstrong Ambulance, and Boston Emergency Medical Services, but none of the companies had available vehicles to respond.

  I want to be clear: none of these companies are to blame for the toddler’s death. They simply did not have the adequate resources – be it staff or fleet – to respond to the scene. But, what is important to note is that this tragic situation is not an anomaly. I have heard multiple examples from our own first responders here in Everett where urgent situations were not responded to as quickly as possible due to a lack of vehicles available. Statewide, response times have slowed by nearly 15%, with 2022 experiencing the slowest response times in Boston since at least 2014 according to Boston Globe reports. I understand that statistics like these can just seem like numbers, but the tragedy in Winthrop provides a greater perspective by humanizing these figures.

The implementation of the ambulance fleet into the Everett Fire Department was a showcase that Everett recognizes the need for more-reliable response times and that the City wants to take matters into their own hands. I have publicly supported this initiative since its inception. Now it is time to equip our Fire Department with an adequate fleet. I call upon this Council to support a Resolution and, if need be, a funding appropriation, to secure an additional ambulance for EFD.

More important than being responsive is exercising precaution. Let’s not wait until tragedy hits even closer to home before we act. Support those who support our most vital asset – our residents – by providing them with the proper equipment to carry out their functions.

Thank you.

Signed,

Al Lattanzi
Everett resident and business-owner