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For the third consecutive year, Cooper University Health Care\u2019s Emergency Medical Services (EMS)<\/a> in the City of Camden has responded to more emergency calls and done so with exceptional response times. Since Cooper EMS began providing service in January 2016<\/a>, emergency calls have increased by 21 percent. In 2018, Cooper EMS responded within eight minutes 90 percent of the time for all advanced life support (ALS) calls.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen Cooper University Health Care took over EMS services three years ago, we promised the residents of the City of Camden that we would improve response times, services, and community involvement and we have delivered,\u201d said George E. Norcross III, Chairman of the Board of Trustees at Cooper.<\/p>\n Prior to Cooper taking over EMS, an independent study indicated ALS responses in Camden only met the eight-minute national benchmark on 70 percent of calls. Cooper combined ALS and basic life service (BLS) to improve response time and create a more efficient service. Since the program\u2019s inception, Cooper EMS has consistently responded within the eight-minute benchmark for 90 percent of ALS dispatches, despite the ever-growing number of calls each year.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are proud of the tremendous work our emergency medical technicians, paramedics, and support staff have done in improving service to Camden residents and reducing response times,\u201d said Anthony Mazzarelli, MD, JD, MBE<\/a>, Co-President of Cooper.<\/p>\n In the past year, Cooper EMS averaged 125 daily BLS and ALS service dispatches combined, up from an average of 104 daily calls in 2016 and 113 in 2017.<\/p>\n