Guilford County EMS partners with Greensboro agencies to respond to Interactive resource Center calls

GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) — First responders with the Guilford County Emergency Services carry the responsibility to save lives every day, and that can sometimes be dangerous in areas that are known to have high call volume.

One high-call volume area is the Interactive Resource Center in Greensboro. According to emergency services spokesperson Scott Muthersbaugh, there have been a number of calls over the past few months to the center that helps the homeless.

From April 15 through May 15, paramedics took 131 calls from the IRC. From May 15 through June 15, they responded to 108 calls. From June 15 to July 15, paramedics got 58 calls.

“We’ve had two calls out there today and three calls out there yesterday,” Muthersbaugh said.

Due to the high call volume, Muthersbaugh says about three weeks ago, Guilford County Emergency Services partnered with Greensboro police and Greensboro Fire and Rescue to assist their paramedics, specifically for calls at the IRC.

“When there is a medical call, we will send an ambulance and a set of officers to respond to make sure we have whatever resources we need from that standpoint. Usually on higher level calls, we also co-respond with Greensboro Fire Department just for extra manpower,” Muthersbaugh said.

FOX8 asked Muthersbaugh what led to the partnership, especially after Guilford County Board of Commissioners Chairman Skip Alston claimed first responders were afraid to respond to the area.

“As far as I know, there wasn’t a single incident. We just noticed there was an increase in call volume, and we wanted to have all the people around the table to respond to calls the most effectively,” Muthersbaugh said. ​

When it comes to keeping folks safe at the IRC, city and county leaders asked the IRC director to consider hiring off-duty police officers ​to deter criminal activity in the area.

Right now, there’s no timetable for when or if that will happen.

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