Some cities in DeKalb County met with county officials Thursday to discuss improving their emergency medical services.

In some cases, ambulances in the northern part of the county took almost an hour to arrive. 

Dunwoody City Council Member Terry Nall said that’s unacceptable.

"I-285 is clearly a barrier for us in Dunwoody,” Nall said. “Until that coverage area is handled in a better way, we're going to continue to have this problem."

Dunwoody declared a state of emergency for its EMS earlier this year and wants the state to give it permission to provide its own emergency services.

Right now, the county is the current provider but contracts with a private company, American Medical Response.

DeKalb CEO Michael Thurmond said they have worked with Dunwoody and other cities to quicken response times. Thurmond says a lot of that has to do with how 911 calls are processed after they’re received.

He said the county’s emergency officials are hopeful they can cover the entire county efficiently while keeping costs low.

Tags: EMS  Dekalb County  Atlanta  Georgia