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Response Time and the Location of Emergency Medical Facilities in Rural Areas: A Case Study
Author(s) -
Daberkow S. G.,
King G. A.
Publication year - 1977
Publication title -
american journal of agricultural economics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.949
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1467-8276
pISSN - 0002-9092
DOI - 10.2307/1239648
Subject(s) - revenue , service (business) , emergency medical care , emergency medical services , medical emergency , location model , population , business , operations management , operations research , medicine , environmental health , finance , marketing , engineering
A framework to analyze the delivery of emergency medical care in northern California is proposed. Using a branch and bound algorithm, the most efficient (least‐cost) size, number, and location of emergency medical facilities is found subject to a given level of demand and a measure of effectiveness (response time). The current spatial pattern of emergency medical service (EMS) facilities is compared with the most efficient spatial pattern. Due to the sparse distribution of the study area population, some individual EMS facilities are not economically viable given the current revenue structure. Funding alternatives for EMS, including volunteer service, are discussed.