(FOX40.COM) -- A new system of deploying ambulances in Sacramento County seeks to make sure that people with the most urgent medical needs are attended to much faster.
Sacramento County announced on Thursday that this month, the Sacramento Fire Department and Medic Ambulance began a partnership to provide Basic Life Support transport services in the county.
The partnership involves having two types of ambulances respond to calls, basic and advanced.
According to the Red Cross, Basic Life Support (BLS or BCLS) is basic techniques that give immediate care to a patient, like CPR, rescue breaths or the use of an automated external defibrillator, known as an AED.
The second type of care that ambulances can provide is known as Advanced Life Support, which comes into play when a higher level of care is needed, such as airway management, IV access, medications or advanced cardiac life support, according to the Red Cross.
Under the new system in Sacramento County, BLS ambulances can respond to calls that are considered non-critical, allowing ALS ambulances to respond to more urgent calls.
According to the county, around 10-20% of 911 calls can be handled by BLS ambulance teams.
The partnership will also include Medic Ambulance teams at hospitals that could help with patient care during offloading, allowing the ambulance vehicle teams to move on to their next call.
According to the county, the partnership was made possible by a policy change in 2023 by the Sacramento County Emergency Medical Services Agency.