NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A lot of people look to replace their cars when they hit 100,000 miles or so. The same is true for many EMS departments and their ambulances.
But NewsChannel 5 Investigates has discovered that there are a lot of ambulances out there with a lot more miles on them because of a nationwide ambulance shortage.
If you or a loved one is having a medical emergency, you want that ambulance to be able to get you to the hospital.
But our investigation found there are many ambulances out there that should have been retired and taken off the road ages ago. But, emergency departments say they have no choice but to keep sending them out on calls.
When you hear the sirens and see the flashing lights, you know someone needs medical attention fast.
But what NewsChannel 5 Investigates has discovered about ambulances in Tennessee raises new questions about the safety of many of these emergency vehicles.
In Robertson County, EMS Chief Brent Dyer showed us one of his 13 ambulances. It had just under 300,000 miles on it.
NewsChannel 5 Investigates asked the chief, "Do you actually have to use this ambulance?"
Yes, he told us, "Quite often."
The EMS Director said the county has six other ambulances that aren't too far behind it.
"You’re the chief, do you worry when you put this on the road for a call?" NewsChannel 5 Investigates asked.
"Oh yeah," Dyer replied.
Across Tennessee, it's the same story.
We obtained a database from the state health department which shows almost a third of the ambulances in Tennessee have 200,000 miles or more. There are dozens with well over 300,000. And, believe it or not, there are some with 400,000, 500,000 and even 600,000 miles.
The problem started back in 2020 with the microchip shortage during the pandemic. Then, COVID-19 slowed the production of chassis, the frames used in building ambulances. All that led to a huge backlog of orders, which the handful of companies that assemble ambulances is still struggling with.
So, while it used to take a few weeks or months to get a new ambulance from a manufacturer, now it takes much longer.
"Now it’s two years. Two years, maybe more, but at least two years," Chief Dyer said.
And ambulances with so many miles are more likely to break down.
In Robertson County, there have been times where so many of the ambulances have been in the repair shop, the county actually had to borrow ambulances from other counties.
In Clay County, where they have two ambulances with over 200,000 miles, ambulance driver Jennifer Cowan shared her fears.
"Breaking down with a patient in the back," she said.
"Does an ambulance with a patient breaking down keep you up at night worrying about one of your ambulances?" NewsChannel 5 Investigates asked Chief Dyer in Robertson County.
"Oh yeah!" he told us.
The state of Tennessee requires all ambulances with over 200,000 miles to be inspected every year, or every 30,000 miles, to make sure they're still safe to be on the road. But some wonder if it's enough, especially with so many ambulances out there with well over 200,000 miles.
Vanderbilt Children's Hospital, for example, has two pediatric critical care ambulances with more than 600,000 miles. One of them has close to 700,000 miles. Vanderbilt declined our request for an interview but told us it's been trying to get replacements now for more than two years. In the meantime, the hospital said its vehicles undergo daily maintenance inspections.
"It seems silly to spend thousands of dollars on a truck with almost 300,000 miles, but (you do) when it’s all you can get," Chief Dyer said.
For city and county ambulance providers, it's taxpayers who have to keep paying to keep these vehicles on the road.
Chief Dyer showed us a repair bill he'd just received for nearly $6,000. He said they'd already spent $10,000 on that same ambulance since December.
"We have stretched the lives of these machines about as long as we can," he said.
Robertson County had to add another $20,000 dollars to its EMS maintenance budget last year, and again this year because of all of the repairs these ambulances needed. Just four months into this fiscal year, they've already gone through more than a third of the money.
The ambulance shortage is especially hard on smaller, rural counties because, on a lot of their calls, these ambulances are having to drive patients to Nashville. For somewhere like Robertson County, a roundtrip can add another 75 miles.
Robertson County ordered several ambulances back in 2021 and another last year. They're hoping to get them sometime next spring. Ambulance manufacturers say they're doing the best they can to catch up on all of the backorders.
