Voluntary ambulance

In the late 1980s, the EMS division of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) was unable to handle the full load of 911 calls and asked hospitals to provide ambulances to the 911 system. In 1996, the HHC's EMS division was absorbed by the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) to bring in revenue to avoid closing firehouses. In December 2010 the Mayor of New York City and the FDNY announced a plan to charge hospitals to participate in New York City's 911 system. The city aimed to collect $8.7 million from the hospitals to help cover the cost of telemetry and emergency medical dispatch. Critics argued that this would have disincentivised voluntary hospitals from contributing in the 911 system and thereby put additional work on the FDNY. ==Popular culture==

The 1999 supernatural drama film Bringing Out the Dead involves voluntary hospital paramedics in New York City. == References ==