Atlanta Council Member Attempts to Remedy 911 Dilemma

Atlanta City Council

If you call 911 from the part of the city of Atlanta that’s in DeKalb County, sometimes it’s not clear who will respond.

Atlanta City Councilwoman Natalyn Archibong wants to fix that problem.

“There’s been times when both DeKalb County’s ambulance provider as well as Grady Hospital’s ambulance have both been dispatched to the same emergency.  It’s a waste of assets and resources,” says Archibong.

An audio version of this story.

She says the cell tower that borders DeKalb and Fulton counties sometimes sends calls to the wrong location.

That has occasionally left callers on hold for minutes as they’re being transferred to the correct provider.

The Atlanta City Council hopes a new, 15-member task force will come up with a way to remedy this situation.

“I’m very excited that the interim CEO of DeKalb County has agreed to participate.  This is the first time we’ve had that level of commitment from the county to be a part of what will be a solution to this problem.” 

There’s no set deadline, but the council hopes solutions will be brought forth before the end of the year.