Emergency Medical Services Responses at a Large Immigration Detention Facility in Rural Georgia: A Descriptive...

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Emergency Medicine
• Immigration Studies

Background:

• Increasing numbers of individuals in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facilities raise concerns about Emergency Medical Services (EMS) utilization.
• Rural locations of many ICE facilities pose operational challenges for local EMS agencies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore EMS activations and transports originating from the Stewart Detention Center (SDC), a large ICE facility in rural Georgia.
• To analyze the impact of SDC-related EMS activations on the primary local EMS provider, Stewart County Fire and EMS.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional analysis of EMS activations requiring transport from SDC between April 1, 2018, and August 31, 2021.
• Data collected via state and county open-records requests, including demographics, dispatch complaints, vital signs, and patient disposition.
• Descriptive analysis of all collected data.

Main Results:

• 345 EMS activations requiring transport from SDC during the study period.
• Common symptoms included chest pain, abdominal pain, and shortness of breath; 38% had abnormal vital signs.
• 43% required transfer to a tertiary hospital 40 miles away; SDC activations constituted 13% of the local EMS agency's total responses.

Conclusions:

• EMS activations from SDC represent a significant call volume for local EMS, often involving high-acuity patients requiring long-distance transfers.
• Rising medical emergencies in ICE detention facilities necessitate further research into operational and clinical implications for EMS and public health infrastructure.