EMS upgrades with new equipment and personnel

By Anna Rochelle NEW AMBULANCES ON THE ROAD: Greene County Ambulance Service Director David Doane, Paramedics Ryan Sparks and Matt Hill, and Greene County Sheriff's Lt. Bryan K. Woodall posed for a photo in front of the new ambulances. The 2008 Chevy van on the left will be stationed in Jasonville. The 1994 Ford in the center will be stationed in Solsberry - Woodall was instrumental in obtaining the truck free from Crane's Reutilization Department. The 2008 Ford on the right will be stationed in Bloomfield. [Order this photo]

Ambulance Service Director David Doane said his department has been looking forward to the arrival of the new ambulance units - they now have five with two back-up units.

"This puts us in good shape as far as equipment is concerned," said Doane, "and we need to thank a few people."

Doane, the ambulance crews and office staff would like to recognize those serving on the Greene County Council and the Greene County Commissioners for approving the funding and purchases, Midwest Auto Sales in Jasonville where two of the ambulances were purchased, the Department of Reutilization at Crane where a used ambulance was obtained at no cost, and they asked for a little extra recognition of the support from the Greene County Sheriff's Department.

"Lt. Bryan Woodall was instrumental in getting this ambulance from Crane for us. He went above and beyond - it involved a lot of extra paperwork and a lot of time - we wouldn't have gotten this without Bryan's help," said Doane.

Sheriff Terry Pierce oversees the ambulance service and Doane said Pierce recognizes the importance of the ambulance service and they appreciate his support.

Along with the new units, the service recently added three new paramedics to their roster.

"Ryan Sparks, who also serves as our training officer, Matthew Hill and Seth Staggs have completed their training and paramedic certifications and we're really proud that we now have a total of six paramedics. We're hoping to add two more sometime next year," said Doane.

There was a time a few years back when Greene County did not have any paramedics riding on the ambulances.

Doane credited a former Ambulance Service Director, John Bailey, as the one who got the ball rolling to provide a higher level of emergency medical services to Greene County.

"When Bailey was the director, he brought us up to the paramedic level," said Doane noting that after Bailey got things started, the directors that followed have continued to expand on the care the service is able to give.

A big part of the reason the service has been able to fund this year's expansion is because the Ambulance Service is taking in more money than they have in past years - a lot more money. Besides the emergency services they provide, the ambulance service can take in money by transporting non-emergency patients.

In 2003, the total amount of their incoming revenue from non-emergency transports was around $330,000 and in 2004, it was around $350,000. In 2005, it was around $500,000. In 2006, it was around $675,000 and in 2007, it was almost $800,000.

Doane was appointed as the director in the fall of 2007. At that time, most of the non-emergency transports in the county were being performed by a private ambulance service. When one stopped and change was in the air, Doane saw an opportunity and acted to secure some of that business.

"I went around and let everyone know we wanted their business," said Doane explaining that he told convalescent centers, nursing homes and others in the medical field that if the non-emergency business was given to the Greene County Ambulance Service, that money would stay in the county for the public benefit.

They're now taking in over a million dollars a year. At the end of November this year, the Ambulance Service's revenue for non-emergency transports reached just over $1,116,000.

One of the new ambulances will be stationed in Jasonville. It's a 2008 model Chevrolet van.

"We like to have box trucks for our ambulances because they can carry more equipment than a van, but we needed this one to be sized smaller so it will fit inside the garage atJasonville," said Doane.

The other new ambulance is a 2008 model Ford box truck and it will be stationed in Bloomfield.

The used ambulance is a 1994 model Ford box truck with only 18,000 miles on the odometer - it will be stationed in Solsberry. Doane reported that for a used vehicle, the truck is in excellent condition - and it was free.

According to Doane, when Crane has surplus items, there are programs in place to put these things back out into the community. In this case, the Ambulance Service was eligible for this because the ambulance might be used as a backup in drug cases. However, the application process is quite involved with a tight timeline.

"We needed to be at the top of the list to get this. So Lt. Woodall stayed up late one night just so he could get our application in first - within seconds after they started accepting the apps online. We can't thank Bryan enough," said Doane.