Atlanta council member's other job an asset for emergency response issues

ATLANTA - Grady Memorial Hospital not only listened to the comment from one Atlanta City Council member but adopted the suggestion, making it a part of the emergency protocol.

At issue is providing the most accurate information, so paramedics can quickly get to a patient.

The council member, Dustin Hillis, knows the challenges emergency personnel face because the local lawmaker is an ICU nurse.

Grady EMS has been overwhelmed by increased 911 call volume while staff has declined.

Hillis told EMS director John Hanson about a call he had taken from a constituent.

The woman's elderly mother had taken a spill in the driveway and a 911 call taker advised she not be moved until help could get there.

Atlanta Fire and Grady both made efforts to get to the woman under existing response guidelines.

Ambulances parked outside Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta. (Eli Jordan, FOX 5 Atlanta / FOX 5 Atlanta)

Hillis advised it never got communicated that the weather on that summer day included searing heat. The senior remained on the hot pavement until EMTs got there.

The Grady EMS chief acknowledged that sort of weather information should be included down the line. That factor, he said, would have moved the call ahead on the priority sheet.

The hospital told the council member, who chairs the public safety panel, a change has been made to the Emergency Response protocol.