Calling 911 immediately, when you think someone is badly hurt, sick or in danger, connects you with a whole emergency medical team - emergency dispatch operators, emergency medical technicians, paramedics, physicians and nurses - who are specifically trained to handle these situations.

Once on scene, our paramedics and emergency medical technicians are trained and equipped to begin assessing and administering emergency care. They are in communication with the hospital's emergency department physicians and are able to alert the hospital to the patient's condition prior to arrival.

Driving someone to the hospital in an emergency could put you and the patient at greater risk:

• Getting through traffic with a seriously ill patient in your vehicle can be very  distracting.
• Most individuals are not trained or equipped to safely provide emergency medical care.
• Few people carry life-saving equipment in their vehicle.
  
• Moving some patients could make their conditions worse.