LENOIR, NC (October 18, 2017)…Upon review of contracts, that Caldwell County holds with volunteer fire & rescue agencies to house Caldwell County Emergency Medical Service (EMS) crews, there will be one location change.
EMS Crew 5 will be re-located from North Catawba Fire & Rescue (NCFR) on the Connelly Springs Road to the crews’ former location at the Caldwell County Hudson EMS Base at 467 Redwood Street, in Hudson. This re-location will be temporary until a suitable site is identified within the Cajah’s Mountain/Baton area of Caldwell County.
During the contract review period, the NCFR administration has expressed their interest in the EMS unit being removed from their facility and also failed to meet the deadline for a decision and signing of the contracts.
Caldwell County Commissioners signed the contracts at their Monday, October 9 regular meeting. The contracts are required to meet Medicare/Medicaid requirements.
Two agencies house EMS crews, meaning a two-person crew is stationed there permanently and respond to calls from that agency. Recently it has been Gamewell Fire Department and NCFR. Gamewell Fire Department did sign and renew their contract with the County.
Additionally, there are also two outposts, Sawmills Fire Department and Collettsville Fire Department, but those two agencies do not house the EMS crews during their shifts.
An EMS crew has operated out of the NCFR facility in various arrangements since 2015. EMS Crew 5 has operated as the only unit at the NCFR facility following a decision earlier this year to reorganize the EMS Division to increase the number of patient transport units. This reorganization was made not only to decrease the burden on fire-rescue agencies of providing back-up EMS services, but also to meet the primary goal of pre-hospital emergency medical care for the treatment and transport of the critically ill and injured patients. The reorganization immediately resulted in decreased standby requests as well as increased presence in multiple communities; thus, decreasing response and transport times.
Citizens will continue to be provided the high level of pre-hospital care that they have come to expect from all agencies within Caldwell County, and the administration of Caldwell County and Caldwell County EMS will continue to research all available options for finding a suitable location within the area for an EMS base.