Do I have to call 911? (Milwaukee, Appleton: transporting, taxi, live)

[Heart8855]

Hey all, I'm new-ish to the area and have a encountered a unique issue. I'm a single parent, and my son is bed-ridden disabled. He gets very sick frequently. Shortly after we moved here, I would call the Fire Department to transport him. I noticed 3 things right away:
1. They took a while to get to my house. I live near the lake in Bay View. A fire department engine would show up, but an ambulance (what I really need) seems to take a while.
2. Even after the Fire Department ambulance arrived, they take another 20 minutes to "assess" my son, then they leave and another ambulance shows up shortly thereafter to transport.
3. I found a lot (not all, but a majority) of the Fire Department guys were kinda jerks. I don't call a LOT, maybe once or twice a month (my son is now 16 and is getting too big for me to get out to the car to take him to the hospital) but these guys act soooo annoyed. I try to be as nice to them as I could but I constantly felt like i had to apologize for calling them.

So, recently, I cut out the middle man. I stopped calling 911 and starting calling Bell Ambulance directly. They ask the same questions on the phone that the fire department does, they send a paramedic unit, same as the fire department, sometimes a BLS unit arrives first then a paramedic unit, but I understand why, as they have taken the time to explain why they do that, and why the fire department send a fire truck (now I get it). They have been INCREDIBLY nice to me and my son. They even gave my son a short tour of their station a few months ago where they taught the both of us the difference between EMTs and Paramedics, and all about different types of ambulances, and he swears he now wants to be an EMT.

Now, here comes the problem. A couple weeks ago Bell showed up, they picked up my son, and started transporting to the ER. As I was walking out to my car to meet them at the hospital, my neighbor from across the street (who I had never met before) came over and started berating me in front of the rest of my kids. He claimed he was an officer on the fire department, and I'm risking killing my kid by not calling 911. He said the Bell employees are incompetent (funny, I would same the same about the Fire Department Ambulance, the Bell guys and gals have been very bright) He claimed it was illegal to not use 911 and if he sees Bell respond again, he's going to turn me in.

Needless to say, I ignored him. I have since called Bell on my own, without using 911, and I'm not in jail, but his words are still in the back of my head. I moved here from Appleton, where a private ambulance like Bell WAS the only option. I can tell you there is a difference in professionalism between companies like Gold Cross and Bell and the Fire departments. I prefer using Bell, my son loves the Bell people, and most of them appear to enjoy seeing my son. So?....am I going to jail? or is this guy full of smoke? Are there laws in Wisconsin or Milwaukee that I'm not aware of? Can anyone help answer these questions?

[43north87west]

You called a private ambulance and they responded. That's the end of it. You can use Uber or Lyft if that works for your purposes. There has always been a lot of contention between private ambulance services and EMS, especially in some cities, but there is no law that I'm aware of, that says you have to use 911 for anything.

[timberline742]

You don't need to call 911. No.

[Jesse276]

Seriously, save the taxpayers the money & leave 911 alone if it's not an emergency. It's not an emergency if you can wait 2 hours to get to the hospital.

[thefragile]

Originally Posted by Jesse276

Seriously, save the taxpayers the money & leave 911 alone if it's not an emergency. It's not an emergency if you can wait 2 hours to get to the hospital.

Thank you. Calling once to twice a month is in fact a lot. 911 is for emergencies only.

[Mr. In-Between]

Oh, no - you've got one of those neighbors.

Tell him to stick it sideways and mind his own damned business. If he comes over onto your property and starts harassing you again, I'd ask him once to leave, and then dial 911 on him.

[Heart8855]

Originally Posted by thefragile

Thank you. Calling once to twice a month is in fact a lot. 911 is for emergencies only.

He gets infections like UTIs easily, and when he does, his temp spikes to 104 degrees and his blood pressure drops into 70s systolic. When he gets sick, it is an emergency. At least for me it is. Sorry I'm "taxing the system." You're welcome to spend a day in my shoes.

[thefragile]

Originally Posted by Heart8855

He gets infections like UTIs easily, and when he does, his temp spikes to 104 degrees and his blood pressure drops into 70s systolic. When he gets sick, it is an emergency. At least for me it is. Sorry I'm "taxing the system." You're welcome to spend a day in my shoes.

If this is such a common occurrence, you should have a plan in place. Sorry, you should plan better.