Paramedic urges data‑driven EMS review; court establishes local EMS advisory board

Paramedic Edwin Bentley urged the Fletcher County Fiscal Court on July 21 to form an advisory committee to analyze EMS response data and address staffing shortages. Bentley, a certified paramedic with more than two decades of experience, said electronic flight and patient databases should make it possible to pull origin points and response times to assess whether ambulances and staffing levels match demand. “We should be able to pull everything out of that database as far as where the the, call originated from,” Bentley told the court, and he offered to help form and serve on a committee. Bentley said the region faces a shortage of paramedics and that some neighboring jurisdictions are exploring contracting for EMS services because of financial pressures. After his remarks, the court moved to create an advisory board. The motion — made during public comment — passed by roll call. Court members recorded volunteers and interested participants and said the board would include local representatives and at least one person from Neon; the transcript lists named volunteers and officials who expressed interest in serving. Members and Bentley discussed training pathways, community paramedicine and school‑based training options for building a workforce. County officials asked Bentley to help get the committee organized and identified initial volunteers; the court asked staff to formalize the board structure and report back with membership and a charter. No funding appropriation was made July 21; the immediate action was to establish the committee and begin organizing stakeholders to study EMS response, training and potential grant options.