Frequently Asked Questions
Who owns EMSA?
EMSA is a public trust authority of the Tulsa and Oklahoma City governments.
How many ambulances does EMSA own?
Why do I see EMSA ambulances parked at several locations around town?
What is the most common type of medical emergency?
How fast is EMSA required to respond?
Priority 1 calls are critical situations, such as heart attacks, strokes, drownings and traumatic motor vehicle collisions.
Priority 2 calls are non-life-threatening situations such as, falls, broken limbs and minor injury motor vehicle collisions.
For the suburbs of the metro areas, EMSA must respond to Priority 1 calls within 11 minutes and 59 seconds 90 percent of the time, and 24 minutes and 59 seconds 90 percent of the time for Priority 2 calls.
The Tulsa-area suburbs include Bixby, Jenks and Sand Springs. The Oklahoma City-area suburbs include Lake Aluma, Mustang, Nichols Hills, The Village, Valley Brook, and Arcadia.
When I call for an ambulance, why does the fire department come too?
How is EMSA funded?
EMSA receives no general fund tax dollars from the cities of Oklahoma City or Tulsa. However, a few cities which EMSA serves still choose to provide funds through general fund tax dollars.
Due to inadequate reimbursement by Medicare and the cost of providing services to uninsured patients, most ambulance providers are unable to operate on patient billing revenues alone. But, EMSA’s EMSAcare program fills the gap, providing an affordable, stable funding mechanism for citizens while minimizing or eliminating general fund tax subsidies.