City officials say a woman who has called 911 thousands of times should be given a tax-payer funded home carer because it would be cheaper than sending an ambulance to her house every time she has an ’emergency.’
Martha Rigsby collapsed to the ground for the first time in 1977 and called 911 for help. Over a period of more than 35 years, she’s phoned the emergency line thousands of times.
Despite the constant calls, Rigsby has insisted in court that she doesn’t need an at-home carer.
Rigsby’s constant dialing of the three-digit emergency number for help puts a strain on services that are already stretched to the limit.
City officials say Ms Rigsby should instead be given a tax-payer funded aide to calm her medical worries. According to the Washington Post, it would still be cheaper than sending an ambulance each time she has one of her ‘episodes’.
In the past year alone she has called on 226 occasions and been taken to hospital by ambulance 117 times.
Even the fire-fighters in her district know her date of birth and Social Security number by heart.
Ms. Rigsby has become the most frequent 911 user in Washington D.C. history and has been dubbed a ‘super user’.
