Ambulance District marks 25 years

Sunday, August 3, 2003

The Vernon County Ambulance District has come a long way since picking up its first patient in 1978. Just a year earlier, ambulances were dispatched from funeral homes. Drivers essentially picked up their charges, then rushed them to the hospital as quickly as possible. But in 1977, doing so was no longer feasible for funeral homes so the county went to work to provide ambulance service another way, according to a historic account of the district penned by EMT Linda Wheeler. The district was set up with a board of six elected directors, each from one of six sub-districts within the county, having as equal populations as possible. A temporary service began Feb. 29, 1978, and a short time later, the service became known as Vernon County Ambulance District. There were three employees and two ambulances, which were housed at the Vernon County Sheriff's Office. Since then, the district has grown into its own headquarters at Walnut and Osage in Nevada, where its five ambulances, a rescue boat and a van are housed, ready to respond in time of need. "We're proud of how far we've come, of where we are now and where we're going. We, and the board of directors, have done a lot with the resources we've had," said James McKenzie, ambulance director. In the beginning, ambulance service was very basic. McKenzie related that "the state came along and said there were better care and services in Vietnam than on the highways," across the state. So, state officials raised the standards beyond the scope of what the funeral homes could provide in terms of training and equipment, and community leaders set out to provide a viable ambulance service for everyone. The district, which serves all of Vernon County, started out with a 15-cent tax levy, which has since decreased to its current level of 14 cents per $100 in valuation. A few months later, the ambulance service moved into its own building at 214 W. Hunter. There, the service grew to four units staffed by seven full time and 15 part-time employees. McKenzie, who's a 17-year veteran of the district, remembers the good and bad old days in that facility. "It was a home for the ambulance district. It was ours. But it was small. There was no place to train -- any training we did would be in the ambulance bay. You'd have to move the ambulances out to have the training." After a while, the building also became mouse-infested, so much so that trapping efforts did little to control the population. "We won't forget coming from those kinds of roots, and we really appreciate where we are now," McKenzie said. In 1992, a plan to build a facility more in step with providing good service to the community began to form. Goals included building a new facility, managing funds in a way that would enable the district to upgrade its equipment regularly in order to provide the best service available, and to improve the salary structure. "We've made some advancements, and we've held the line (financially). Every step has been positive," McKenzie said. Land was donated to the district for a new building, but its location wasn't suitable. So, with the blessing of the donor, the land was sold in order to raise part of the money needed to purchase the land on which the district's headquarters now stands. Eventually the district moved into its new home, which has a training room, offices, small quarters for employees, a basement where emergency operations can be conducted, a large bay to house the ambulances, a garage that houses the district van, which performs non-emergency transportation for certain clients along with a rescue unit and boat for water rescues. The ambulance district also purchased a parcel directly behind the existing headquarters, to be used for future expansion if needed. The building is maintained by the staff, who do everything from washing and detailing the ambulances to cleaning the floors and the dishes. Vernon County Ambulance District personnel and equipment responded to about 2,500 calls in the past year, throughout the county. Maps in the offices help the board and employees evaluate where calls occur the most. Pins in a variety of colors denote the type of call. From this map, responders can get an idea of where accidents and medical calls happen. For example, it's clear from the map that several accidents have occurred along U.S Highway 54 between Nevada and El Dorado Springs. "You can see that's a bad stretch. It always has been," McKenzie said. Identifying patterns helps the district plan for the future. One of the board of directors' long-range hopes is to have substations that would enable faster response to areas that are a longer distance from the headquarters in Nevada, with the ultimate goal being a five-minute response to most calls, McKenzie said. Knowing where and why ambulances are needed most often will help decide where the community would receive the greatest benefit from a substation. Meanwhile, though, the district is taking full advantage of its facility, now just a few years old, to provide training to the public, to its own staff of nine full-time and about 20 part-time employees, plus a reserve of about 20 volunteer first-responders; and to provide training classes that may be used by other departments. The district regularly offers CPR classes, first aid classes for the workplace, a pediatric emergency class suitable for child care providers or first-time parents. Training for professionals includes a survival guide for emergency providers, search and rescue training, a first-responders class. "We'd like it to become a regional training center, with classes people from other areas would use. That could also mean people here eating at our restaurants, maybe staying in our hotels," McKenzie said. An increased focus on training is already paying off, in that the district has gone from a service using EMTs alone to one that also uses paramedics, which means responding teams are able to provide a higher level of care to citizens at the scene. "That training is not cheap, either," McKenzie said, noting that when he became an EMT, the training cost about $75; now the cost is more than $400. Equipment upgrades have also enabled the district to provide some medical assistance at the scene. "There's still a charge for that type of thing, but it's a lot less than an ambulance ride," McKenzie said. Today, Vernon County Ambulance District takes pride not only in providing the best service for the best value they can, but in being active members of the community as well. Fund-raisers are conducted annually, ear-marking the proceeds for new equipment. For the community, the district conducts a toy drive each year, and participates in events benefiting the March of Dimes, children's Miracle Network and other events. The district participates in health fairs, offers education programs at schools for children and stand by at local sporting events. "We really enjoy doing that. It's a lot of fun, and we all want to be a contributing part of the community," McKenzie said.

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