EMS reports 519 calls in June; county implementing unified systems and school maps

David Adams, Raleigh County’s Emergency Services Director, delivered a monthly EMS update at the July 20 commission meeting, reporting 519 calls for service in June and operational changes intended to improve response coordination.

Adams gave a station breakdown: Station 1 had 162 calls, Station 2 had 164, Station 3 had 74, Station 4 at the airport had 53, and Leonardville had 22. He said the county is preparing for the fall standby season and will open a bidding process next Monday for staff sign-ups to cover games and events.

Operational work includes launching a shared call-information app used by EMS and county fire units so all ambulances access the same call details; standardizing HIPAA and exposure-control plans with the health department; completing an overhead paging system at all stations; and scheduling a second and final radio reprogramming to fine-tune the countywide radio system.

Adams also described a project to upload school floor plans and entrance maps into the county response system so responders can use tablets to navigate school layouts during incidents; he identified the project as a multi-district effort currently in progress. He noted an airport drill planned for Sept. 26 that will involve EMS, emergency management, county fire, Manhattan fire and the county police department.

Why it matters: The operational changes aim to improve on-scene coordination, information sharing and response times for schools, events and routine calls.

Next steps: EMS will continue system reprogramming, finalize the bidding schedule for event coverage and participate in the September airport drill.