By DAVE DOMESCIK | Staff Writer

PELHAM – In an effort to improve emergency response times and continuity of care for the Pelham community, the Pelham Fire Department has launched its own in-house EMS transport services.

The services, which were driven by increasing ambulance response times from third-party care providers, are anticipated to enhance critical care outcomes for Pelham residents and create a safer city. As part of the upgrades, the city of Pelham received three ambulances funded by Shelby County.

To accommodate themselves with the changes, the Pelham Fire Department has hired and trained additional staff, set up medical billing and has been stocking the ambulances with necessary supplies.

Mike Reid, the fire chief of Pelham, added that along with increased response times, another factor contributed to the need for launching of in-house EMS services.

“We were seeing increased response times by our third-party ambulance service as well as an increase in ambulances that did not have paramedics staffed on their units,” Reid said.

Reid gave practical statistics to give a picture of the upgrades Pelham residents can expect in critical care service.

“We will see our response times for an ambulance to arrive on the scene decrease from over 30 minutes 90% of the time to less than 15 minutes 90% of the time,” Reid said. “Our goal is to have an average time on the scene for our ambulances of 10-12 minutes and less than 15 minutes 90% of the time.”

Every second counts in medical care, but Reid added that the quality of care is also important to Pelham first responders.

“Our continuity of care and quicker transport times to the hospital will result in a much better quality of care for our patients,” Reid said. “We will begin treatment once we arrive on the scene and be able to continue this care all the way to the hospital.”

Reid added that the Fire Department has been planning the initiative for about three years, and differentiated the new ambulances with those from third-party providers.

“Our ambulances are similar to our third party service, however Pelham fire will be capable of giving blood transfusions, use ultrasound as a diagnostic tool and we will have the capability to place our critical patients on ventilators,” Reid said. “Our ambulances are equipped with Advanced Life Support equipment as well.”

With new personnel being hired for Pelham FD, Reid detailed the hiring process as well as how many new staff were employed.

“We have hired seven additional personnel for the EMS transport initiative,” Reid said. “The process is similar for all hiring processes. We try to hire certified firefighter/paramedics if possible but we will also hire uncertified candidates and send them to the required firefighter and paramedic training courses. Our hiring process involves a physical agility test, ranking based on certifications and an intense panel interview to select the best candidate.”

Reid closed by noting the positives of the program and how citizens can keep up to date with it.

“It definitely enhances our ability to serve our citizens with a much higher level of service and care,” Reid said. “Our citizens can contact our administrative office by phone or the city’s website at any time if they have questions or concerns.”