“Everyone’s talking about the billions of dollars wasted when people misuse the emergency room in hospitals,” said Jerry Johnston, outgoing president of the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT). “How about the misuse of emergency services even before they reach the hospital? That’s not been on anyone’s radar.”

The 911 system has become a sort of stop-gap primary care for many individuals, said Connie Meyer, president-elect of the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians.

Meyer, who is an EMS captain in Johnson County, Kan., said 50% of the 35,000 911 medical calls in her county are not really emergencies. And for each 911 call, it costs between $400 to $500 to transport a person via ambulance to a hospital, she said.

“If you don’t really need it, it becomes a $400 taxi to the hospital,” Meyer said.

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Bonner, 26, of Linwood Terrace, was sentenced on his robbery conviction for his role in the theft of about $50 from a woman in the 500 block of Linwood Avenue at about 8 p. m. last Oct. 28. He has been in jail since his arrest about 15 minutes later in the A-Plus Market at Delaware and West Delavan avenues.

Bonner was one of four men convicted of staging a fake 911 robbery call from that same store Oct. 30, 2002. Police Officer James Shields, a 36-year-old father of two, was killed when his patrol car crashed into a tree responding to that fake “bandits” call. Bonner and his cohorts had faked the 911 call to cover the theft of money from the store.

– From The Buffalo News

Police Chief Robert Nichelini is proposing that the City Council authorize fines for people who dial 911 but hang up without explanation.

“These calls consume an inordinate amount of police time and often delay the receipt and dispatch of true emergencies,” Nichelini wrote in a report to council.

“A 911 hang-up call is no different than any other type of false alarm, and, in many cases, the modern-day equivalent of the old red fire box on the corner,” he wrote.

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Dispatcher: “9-1-1, what’s your emergency?”

Recorded woman’s voice: “This is an important message regarding your current credit-card account…”

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Micheal Kruse was charged with making a false emergency call, which is a misdemeanor. According to the St. John’s Country Sheriff’s office report, the 20-year-old dialed the emergency service and requested a police escort him to meet the rapper. Confused by the call, the operator asked “What is a little Wayne sir?” Kruse explained that Wayne was a rapper, mistakenly calling him Shawn Carter, which is Jay-Z’s legal name. The operator continued to questions Kruse, “You want a police escort to take you to Miami?”

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Jeremy Lloyd Martin, 23, was charged with improper use of the 911 service, the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office said. He was cited at the scene and released.

According to a tape of the 911 calls released by Clackamas County 911, a man initially told a dispatcher that he was at the McDonald’s near the intersection of Southeast Sunnyside Road and Southeast 82nd Avenue and needed help. The man said he had paid $10 in the drive-thru but only received a single burger and a fry before he was told to pull around.

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A word to the wise: if you have hair in your food, don’t call 911.

Dispatchers say a Wisconsin man did just that after he and his found a bunch of hair in their carry-out meal. 

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A Virginia woman is facing criminal charges for repeatedly calling 911 operators. According to WVIR-TV, records from the past two and a half years show she called the Emergency Communications Center 755 times, and intervened with the work of emergency personnel.

“Police officers know her by sight,” said Albemarle County Police Lieutenant Todd Hopwood. She has also repeatedly stopped by the police station or flagged officers down on the street.

“I’d say we haven’t had any legitimate, that I know of, any legitimate concerns that she’s brought to our attention,” said Hopwood.

Sixty-one year old Linda Lee Dunnivan has a different story to tell. You can read the full story here.

A Cincinnati City Councilman says the changes could increase quality of care from the emergency medical technicians and paramedics, who would be less busy and tired if unnecessary hospital trips stopped.

Read the full article here.

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