Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country | Founded 05-05-05

Watauga Medics—Increased Call Volume, No Complaints, More Training

Story by Sam Calhoun

Director Craig Sullivan recently filed the Watauga Medics annual report with the Watauga County Board of Commissioners, reporting no complaints for 2006 and announcing that the local ambulance service had responded to 25,000 calls with no complaints over the past six years.

In 2006, Watauga Medics responded to 4,053 calls, transported 3,003 patients, clocked an average response time of 9:29 per call and handled a 4.98 percent increase in calls from 2005. In addition, the ambulance service added new employees and bought two new ambulances. Staff members completed more than 7,000 hours of continuing education and training on a variety of topics.

“We’ve been able to provide a paramedic and an ambulance to anyone who needed one without delays,” said Sullivan, “and it’s because I’ve got a good staff that makes things happen when they need to happen.”

Watauga Medics is located at 921 West King Street and has a base two location at 231 Deerfield Road across from Watauga Medical Center. The ambulance service employs 35 to 40 full- and part-time employees and has 8 ambulances. The service had 9 ambulances until Monday when they donated one to the Blowing Rock Rescue Squad.

Sullivan has owned and run Watauga Medics for the past seven years. Prior to that, Sullivan worked for the company that provided the same service.

Watauga County has three choices for providing ambulance service: to hire a government entity, to hire a private entity or to contract with the local hospital. Watauga Medical Center does not provide ambulance service, se the county contracts with Watauga Medics, a private entity.

“Our service is very important,” said Sullivan, referring to last year’s call volume. Two volunteer rescue squads, Watauga Rescue and Blowing Rock Rescue, respond to calls if Watauga Medics’ four ambulances are busy on calls.

In addition to handling the increase in calls, Watauga Medics staff members have also had to increase their classroom and clinical hours—required before an individual can practice at the paramedic level.

“The state over the past three or four years has almost doubled the amount of hours to become a paramedic,” said Sullivan. North Carolina now requires more than 1,200 hours of clinical and classroom hours along with state and local testing, before an individual can work as a paramedic. Watauga Medics has not only stayed ahead of these changes, but has also increased the number of ambulance crews available to the county.

Sullivan said that the increase in clinical and classroom hours has put a strain on some EMS providers, but Watauga Medics has continually been able to recruit, train and retain competent staff. The new requirements also have increased employees’ skills. For instance, in a cardiac arrest call, Watauga Medics can now perform almost all the procedures, except X-rays, that the staff at Watauga Medical Center perform.

Sullivan is excited about national EMS week that is coming up May 14 to 18. During that week, Watauga Medics will conduct EMS awareness and promotion exercises in the community, including offering CPR classes in schools and at businesses.

Looking ahead to 2007, Sullivan plans to replace more ambulances and update several pieces of equipment.

“As our population increases in this county, the call demand increases accordingly and so will the need for additional crews,” said Sullivan. “It is impossible to predict exactly when additional crews will be needed, but most likely within the next 18 months, we should look at adding another crew.”

For more information, call Watauga Medics at 828-264-9486 or email medics@boone.net.

Watauga Medics—2006 Year at a Glance

Last year was a busy one for Watauga Medics. The independent EMS provider has served the High Country for more than seven years and answered 25,000 calls. But the numbers don’t tell the whole story. These dedicated paramedics face life and death situations every day, handling perhaps one of the most difficult jobs without loosing their cool. From the Watauga Medics paramedic who saved a cardiac arrest patient on the first day on the job to the two serene paramedics who reassured a patient with excruciating gall stone pain in the middle of the night, Watauga Medics is a crucial service in the High Country. Here’s the 2006 year at a glance.

4,053—Total number of calls

3,003—Total patients transported

9:29—Yearly average response time

418—Total out-of-county transports

145—Total out-of-county emergency transports

1,930—Total number of emergency calls

722—Total number of patients transported for emergency services

2,625—Total number of calls in Boone Fire District

1,406—Total calls other than Boone (Blowing Rock—Busiest fire district other than Boone.)

11.1—Average number of calls per day

31—Most calls during one day

1—least number of calls in one day

131—Increase in calls from 2005

4.98 percent—Yearly average percent increase in calls over last 16 years

26 percent—Percentage of calls that resulted in no transport

28—Total number of DOAs for year

36—Total number of patients transported by helicopter to trauma centers