AG 1997 07 21 - Laserfiche WebLink

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ICABASRUS COUNTYI CAROl. INA UNIQUE EMS VISION PROVES SUCCESSFUL The Kannapolis area of Cabarrus County, North Carolina has constantly been one of high demands for emergency medical responses.. Emergency responses in, his area alone accounted for nearly one-third of ri calls from the Station One area prior to March of 1996. The residents in this area deserve a rapid response consistent with other areas of the county. A significant number of the calls in this area are in the outlying, rural sections of the county requiring a response time of 15 minutes or longer. The national standards for providing effective advanced life support, to patients in need requires a response time of 8 minutes or less. In March of 1994, the Cabarrus County Board of Commissioners set a goal that 90% of all emergency calls in Cabarrus County should have a response time of 8 minutes or less. Reducing the extended response times are of utmost importance in caring for victims of accidents, illnesses, ~or other' critical situations. · ' Aox~effort to meet this demand through the location of an EMS station in the Kannapolis area was launched in early 1995. Difficulty in locating available property in an appropriate location forced pursuit of other options including a joint venture with other agencies or departments. Kannapolis Fire Department expressed interest in planning a joint Fire and EMS station. Plans were already in place for construction ora replacement for their present Fire Station One. Space would be available for EMS personnel and equipment. The problem was the Station is located in Rowan County thus eliminating this option. Future plans for an additional new Kannapolis Fire Station in Cabarms County are presently on hold. A second option pursued was discussion of a joint venture with businesses in Kannapolis. Due to the number employed in Kannapolis at Fieldcrest. Cannon, a meeting was scheduled with Fieldcrest Cannon representatives to solicit their ideas on this option. Fieldcrest Cannon representatives were very supportive of the idea and offered use of space in their Fire Station until a permanent location could be found. Talks continued and estimates were obtained for remodeling the facility to accommodate our employees and one ambulance. Cabarrus County General Services (a County department) did all of the construction and modifications necessary for adapting to our needs. Interviews were conducted for six additional Paramedics needed to staff'the new Kannapolis station on the 24 hours on/48 hours off rotation. After an extensive evaluation and training process the six were hired and staffed an additional ambulance out of Station One until the remodeling was completed. Emergency Medical Services 31 Willowbrook Drive ,, Concord, NC 28027 · (704) 786-9193 'I