EMS

Text Box: What is it like to be an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) for EMS and respond to an ambulance call?

EMTs are volunteers who sign up in advance for call time and carry a pager with them. When someone calls "911" and requests the ambulance, Dispatch pages EMS from their computer center. The EMT receives a beeping page along with a voice account of what the call is. For example, a page may sound like this, "Summit Dept 20 EMS, respond to the intersection of Harmonsburg Road and State Route 18 for a Motor Vehicle Accident. One patient no entrapment.The patient is alert but having difficulty breathing". Dispatch will also send a Police Officer to the scene to provide first responder care until EMS arrives. A crew of two EMTs and a driver respond to the Ambulance Call with the ambulance red lights and siren running. The crew notifies Dispatch that they are enroute, the Police Officer then gives a patient report over the radio to the responding EMTs. The ambulance driver notifies Dispatch when they have arrived on the scene. They introduce themselves to the patient, assess the patient's condition and prepare for transport. The Officer stays on the scene and assists the EMTs during this process.
Once the patient is in the ambulance, the EMTs continue to treat the patient and do not leave for the hospital until they have the patient stabilized and ready for transport. One EMT or driver drives the ambulance and remains in radio contact with Dispatch. The EMTs that are doing patient care use the ambulance radio, through Dispatch, to call the hospital and give a patient report and to ask for medical control orders for any needed patient care. Usually the transport is made without red lights and siren. Red lights and siren are only used when the illness or injuries are life threatening. In that case scenario, frequently the EMTs will request mutual aid from the closest paramedic unit. Once the ambulance reaches the hospital, the patient is unloaded and taken into the emergency department on a stretcher. The patient is turned over to the nursing staff with a brief verbal report of the patient's current condition.
The EMTs then change the bedding on the cot, do their paper work, clean up the back of the ambulance and return to Base. Once back at the EMS station, EMTs replace all used equipment and wash off the outside of the vehicle. An ambulance call typically takes 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
If you think you would be interested in volunteering your time, please contact Gene Calvert, Ambulance Chief, at 382-3707 or email for further information.