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A bitter reality for Warrick EMS
Posted: Wednesday, Jan 07, 2009 - 11:30:12 am EST
By Timothy W. Young - Warrick Publishing Online
At least for the time being, Warrick EMS is stuck out in the cold.
This is the problem that Emergency Medical Technicians must face at the Warrick EMS station in Chandler.
The current Chandler station is not large enough to house the newer and taller ambulance, meaning the vehicle must stay outside.
This situation becomes a problem when severe weather hits and winter storms affect the area.
When severe weather hit last year, the ambulance was moved to the Ohio Township Volunteer Fire Department in Paradise, but contract changes within the fire department will prevent that from happening this year.
Warrick EMS Director Joe Gamble said that it is imperative for the EMS to move the ambulance under cover when there is a lot of freezing precipitation.
“We haven’t had that situation occur yet,” he said. “(If it happens) we’ll have to move it to Boonville. As soon as the precipitation would stop, it would go back to Chandler.”
Gamble said that even if the ambulance is moved to Boonville, it will remain staffed and ready to respond to its respective area.
“We carry about 60 different emergency medicines,” he said. “We struggle trying to keep those warm. They have to be kept at a moderate temperature, not only because they will freeze, but because it will alter the medication.”
Aside from the dangers that severe cold weather can bring medicines, Gamble said it can also make it difficult for technicians to access equipment on the scene of an emergency if the ambulance was outside during freezing rain.
The region recently experienced some freezing rain, but Gamble said that the ambulance was kept out and that it wasn’t a problem.
“If we start to get a half an inch of freezing rain or four to six inches of snow... we may have to move it,” he said. “Knock on wood, I hope we don’t have any precipitation this winter.”
Discussions among county officials as to how to remedy the problem with the ambulance being stuck out in the cold have been toiled over for the last two years.
A recently organized task force — which meets every two weeks — was established to develop a solution.
The task force is comprised of representatives from the Warrick County Commissioners, the Warrick County Council, board members of the St. Mary’s Warrick board of directors, and members of the public.
Currently, the task force is gathering and studying information to determine a solution.
“We expect that they will be ready to make a recommendation to both the commissioners and the council within the next month or so,” said Gamble. “The sooner the better. If a decision was made today, we probably couldn’t have the building fixed or ready down there before spring.”
He said it is “crucial” that the problem is fixed as soon as possible so that the EMS doesn’t have to face this problem next winter.
“I don’t suspect that we are going to be able to cure this problem, from a construction point of view, this winter,” Gamble said.
Warrick EMS response times — which are less than 15 minutes — are generally better than the state’s average, as seen in Gamble’s monthly reports to the board of commissioners and county council.
“Our response times average around seven to eight minutes across the board,” he said, adding that response times in the northwest and northeast portions of the county run longer.
However, moving the ambulance from Chandler to Boonville will increase response times in that zone approximately two to three minutes.
“It will not significantly affect patient outcome,” he said. “The county commissioners and the county council are very supportive in resolving that issue on a permanent basis.”
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