Determining Ambulance Deployment in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

In 1983, The Ministry of Health of the Dominican Republic (SESPAS) began planning an emergency medical service (E.M.S.) system for the capital city of Santo Domingo. This paper reports on one component of this effort, the development of options regarding the type of E.M.S. care to be delivered, by whom, via what number of types of equipment, sited at which locations. SESPAS has used the results to develop a plan for a public ‘urgency care’ system quite different from the uncoordinated mix of public, private and voluntary services operating previously. The system has been implemented according to plan with basic life support vehicles staffed by physicians.