Cooper University Health Care’s Emergency Medical Services (EMS) is celebrating 10 years of providing emergency medical services to Camden. The anniversary marks a decade of faster response times, integrated and innovative care, and strong community partnerships.
Since launching operations in January 2016, Cooper EMS has responded to hundreds of thousands of emergency calls across Camden. The team has met one of the most critical benchmarks in emergency medical care: arriving on scene for advanced life support (ALS) calls in less than eight minutes more than 90% of the time.
Before Cooper assumed responsibility for EMS operations, basic life support and ALS services were provided by separate organizations, and ALS response times often exceeded 10 minutes. Under Cooper’s integrated EMS model, ALS units arrive within the critical eight-minute window in more than 90% of calls, a standard the program has sustained for nearly a decade.
“Ten years ago, Cooper made a commitment to Camden residents that we would improve emergency response times and expand emergency services in the city,” said Kevin O’Dowd, co-CEO of Cooper University Health Care. “Through disciplined planning, strong partnerships, and an unwavering focus on patient care, the Cooper EMS team has delivered on that commitment year after year.”
Cooper EMS has also played a leading role in addressing the opioid crisis. In 2019, Cooper EMS — working with Cooper’s Division of Addiction Medicine — launched a pilot program allowing paramedics to administer buprenorphine to patients experiencing acute withdrawal after opioid overdose reversal. The program, approved by the New Jersey Commissioner of Health, has since served as a national model.
