EMS Advisory Board

The Floyd County EMS Advisory Board is currently working to improve EMS Service in Floyd County by analyzing and using the Fitch EMS Study and other appropriate EMS data. We need to understand the full EMS system and which areas need improvement. Our mission is to understand all components of the EMS System which include :

• Agencies and organizations (911 dispatch, Fire Dept, EMS, Hospital)
• Communications and transportation networks (telephone, 2-way radio, pre-hospital & post-hospital care)
• Trauma systems, hospitals, trauma centers, and specialty care centers
• Rehabilitation facilities
• Highly trained professionals
  • Volunteer and Career pre-hospital personnel (Fire Department First Responders & EMTs, Advanced EMTs, and Paramedics)
  • Physicians, Nurses, and Therapists
  • Administration and Government Officials
• An informed public that knows what to do in a medical emergency

We are tasked with recommending and implementing improvements to the EMS Response and pre-hospital emergency medical care for Floyd County and its communities. EMS operates at the crossroads between Health Care, Public Health, and Public Safety. A combination of the principles and resources of each is employed in the EMS System. As Floyd County data has shown, 65% of emergency responses made by all the County Fire Department are EMS/medical-related calls for service. Fire Department First Responders and EMTs are typically the first on-scene without delay in most cases and are the first form of pre-hospital care provided to the patient. It has been determined through data that there is a gap and delay between Fire Department Response and patient care and Ambulance Response and patient care for transport. This gap in service causes a delay in the patient receiving hospital care and can cause life-threatening consequences to the patient. The Fire Departments are an active and primary component of EMS in Floyd County. The Fire Department has consistently served Floyd County through the many private providers that have been contracted to service Floyd County in the past. The EMS board is aware that EMS has plagued Floyd County with many service deficiencies over the decades. The EMS board is diligently looking at facts and data to seek out the best options to improve EMS in Floyd County. At this time, we have determined the following issues;

• There are no quality assurance and improvement measures in place to monitor EMS services and response times.
• There are delays with ambulance response times and service within Floyd County.
• There is not an appropriate amount of ambulances located in strategic areas throughout Floyd County.
• There is no dedicated funding source that generates revenue for EMS services.
• The county is not paying for an appropriate number of ambulances to stage within the district to adequately respond to 911 calls for service.

The EMS Advisory Board is actively working to address these issues identified while continuing to do more research to improve EMS Services for those in need.