Published: November 30, 2008 10:31 pm      

Worthington ambulance service busy

Funds raised used to buy equipment, arrange training

FAIRMONT — Over one year ago, officials with the Worthington Fire Department decided to undertake a project they believed would help their agency better serve the county.

That project was to start an ambulance service, which would be administered by the fire department, said Jacob Thompson, Worthington deputy fire chief. The ambulance service was launched on September 30, 2007 with one vehicle and an all-volunteer staff, Thompson said.

“Now we have two ambulances and we’re staffed 24 hours a day,” he said.

The staff is made up paid individuals as well as volunteers, Thompson pointed out.

The Worthington Department responded to a total of 1,564 calls last year, he said. That includes both ambulance calls and those for the fire department. According to Thompson, that is about four times the amount of calls the agency would have responded to before the ambulances were added to the department.

Worthington’s ambulances are the first sent to incidents in the department’s fire district. However, the department will also be called out to assist the Marion County Rescue Squad if needed.

“We even respond to calls in Shinnston,” Thompson said.

Thompson went on to say the department will likely be adding a third ambulance to its fleet of vehicles sometime in the future. The agency uses the funds raised by the ambulance service to purchase more up-to-date equipment that can be used to save lives, Thompson said.

For example, Thompson said the department has recently purchased equipment that will allow the paramedics to transmit information obtained from a 12-lead EKG in the ambulance directly to the hospital through wireless phones.

He noted that receiving this information about the patient before the ambulance even arrives at the hospital would allow doctors to better prepare for the situation. Thompson said the ambulances should be transmitting this information within the next two weeks.

Thompson also noted that additional funds obtained by the department via its ambulance service will be used to pay for additional training at the department.

Worthington officials obtained the funding to start the ambulance service from a loan. Thompson said the agency did not receive any funding in the way of grants.

“No taxpayer money was used to start this service,” he said.

Money was not all that was need to start the ambulance service. The Worthington agency also had to obtain a license from the West Virginia Office of EMS, Thompson said. A temporary license was then obtained by the Worthington department.

Eleven months later, officials with the state office again returned to see how the Worthington agency was getting along. The Worthington ambulance service was given a score by the state office, a score that Thompson said he was very proud of.

“We received a 97 percent,” he said.

A two-year license was then granted to the Worthington ambulance service, Thompson said. He noted that the state Office of EMS will return once the two years is up to re-evaluate the agency.

The department also had to receive permission to begin the service from the county commissioners, Thompson said.

E-mail Paul Fallon at pfallon@timeswv.com.