Emergency Medical Services Director T.J. Manis told members of the EMS Board during their quarterly meeting on Thursday that internal training of the EMS staff is proving beneficial, both from a medical and financial perspective. Having enough available EMS vehicles has been a problem for some time but that as well seems to be headed in the right direction. Manis also updated the board on a new tool now being used to more efficiently speed up the process of dealing with youngsters in need of medical assistance.
EMT , ADVANCED EMT , PARAMEDICS
Manis updated board members Thursday on the in house EMT courses currently underway. A meeting for the third basic EMT class was held this week.
Also being offered internally are classes for EMT and Advanced EMT status at a considerably lower cost than area colleges. The program at Chuckey Doak he hopes will also help develop a pipeline of future EMT’s. Paramedic status would still be required to be taught at the colleges, but the local EMS is assisting with some of those costs.
VEHICLE FLEET
At times EMS is scheduled to have 10 ambulances on the road in Greene County. Current, Mainis says they only have 11 ambulances that are licensed, and operational. Half of the fleet he says, has a massive bank of recall from General Motors, so there is usually a truck at the dealership each week to address those issues. Another unit is dealing with transportation and chassis issues. A unit wrecked in May of last year will be back in service later this year, probably in about 45 days.
Eight are on order , at least four of them having been ordered nearly two years ago, in December 2023.
PEDIATRIC TREATMENT BAGS
Manis introduced new Pediatric Treatment Bags Thursday. The bag is specifically designed to take care of the smallest youngest, and most fragile patients. The bag contains pre-organized emergency kits depending on the size of the patient, in an effort to treat them more quickly and with less stress for both the patient and the medical personnel.
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL APPEARANCES THIS FALL
EMS has has a more visible presence this year at such events as the Iris Festival, Lyrics on the Lawn, David Crockett Days and the Mosheim Back to School Bash. While it does require some extra expense to staff such events, Manis told board members it’s important to be on stand by. In that light , he says after covering high school football games on Friday as best they could , plans are to have a dedicated crew and ambulance or at the very least a manned EMS vehicle at the home county football games this year. The season kicks off a week from today. Greeneville Fire mans the games at Burley Stadium, but now a crew will be available at North Greene , West Greene, South Greene and Chuckey Doak in order to be able to respond more quickly to any on-field or in-stadium situations.
