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Beaufort County EMS outlines call volumes, revenue recovery and survivor account of 2015 crash
Summary
Beaufort County EMS director Donna Owenby presented operational statistics including unit counts, call volumes and revenue-recovery figures and introduced a paramedic and a patient who described a near-fatal 2015 injury and recovery.
Donna Owenby, director of Beaufort County EMS, briefed the Beaufort County Council on June 7 about staffing, call volumes, revenue recovery and the emotional toll of emergency work, then introduced a paramedic and a survivor to share a rescue story.
Owenby told the council that the EMS system operates 11 frontline units (including two vans serving Daufuskie Island), five quick-response vehicles staffed by paramedics and other resources. "We have 11 frontline units, and, of that, 2 are vans that are in Daufuskie. We have 5 quick response vehicles and all of those are manned by paramedics," she said.
She reported that, through May 16, EMS had responded to 18,579 calls for service, with 12,346 billable calls. The department recorded 7,993 advanced-life-support calls, 3,876 basic-life-support calls and 127 deceased-patient calls. On revenue, Owenby described a large amount of forced write-offs (for Medicare, Medicaid, VA and military-related coverage) and said the system's forced write-offs total roughly $8 million; "the net revenue so far that we've collected this year is about $5.214 million," she added and explained the department offers payment plans for patients who cannot pay in full.
Owenby introduced paramedic Jennifer Kalkorzi and a patient, Evan Hefty, who survived a severe 2015 injury. Kalkorzi recounted that the 2015 call involved a 12-year-old who had been run over by a bush hog blade, required rapid coordination among EMS, fire, law enforcement and air medical transport, and was taken to a pediatric trauma center. Hefty, who was 12 at the time and described being run over by farm equipment, addressed the council about his recovery and ongoing challenges: "If EMS didn't make the choices that they made, lifelighting me, helping me, stabilizing me, and assisting me, I would either be dead right now or in a wheelchair in a vegetable state," Hefty said. Hefty told the council he is attending technical college and has completed internships with public works agencies while reporting difficulty finding steady employment despite applications.
Owenby used the survivor's return to the council to emphasize that EMS work requires training, teamwork and community investment and to ask for ongoing support for the service's operational needs. There was no formal action taken during the presentation.
