LUCAS COUNTY, Ohio —
An app that has been alerting Lucas County residents for a decade to calls for service may no longer be offered.
The county started to use PulsePoint in 2014 after learning about the way it was used in Columbus.
The intention of the app was when a call comes for service, it provides a notification to subscribers to let them know about the medical incident. Anyone who is nearby could be notified and potentially assist the person before first responders arrive.
The app currently has 4,820 active monthly users, according to deputy county administrator Matthew Heyrman.
"Over a number of years, the application has not ended up being utilized in the way we always thought it was going to be," he said. "It has provided another service, which has been an opportunity for notification to certain fire departments, to individuals that were in neighborhoods, as well as some media organizations."
Heyrman added that people use the app more like a scanner rather than an opportunity to respond.
"If it's not being utilized for an EMS assistance application, then it doesn't make quite as much sense for that to be continued to be funded out of a fund that is intended for that," he said.
Part of the new Lucas County Emergency Medical Services contract is that finding the funding has been handed over to the Lucas County Fire Chiefs Association. Lucas County EMS has put almost $89,000 into funding the app over the past decade.
Doug Meyer, president of the fire chiefs association, said local departments are split on whether or not to try and keep funding the app. It currently costs $13,000 per year, but would rise to $18,000.
"We've looked at a lot of different models for funding and the use of the app and right now we have not made a full determination on if we're going to be able to keep it and how we're going to fund it yet," Meyer said.
He said the association does not have $18,000 for the application, so it would have to be funded through the fire departments.
Meyer says the association has had many conversations about what benefit there is to keep the app, what alternatives there are and how to potentially fund it.
Meyer said there is no timeline for when a decision will be made. He said the association has worked out an agreement with PulsePoint to be on a trial until a decision has been made, though.
