A number of improvements made to the Castle Rock Ambulance Service have resulted in faster response times and better care.
John Taylor, director of the ambulance service, said since they’ve started staffing paid ambulance crews, the service’s response times have dropped from 15 minutes to 2 minutes. Taylor said ambulance crews have beat Green River Police Department officers in responding to an emergency call. Taylor said the service has had a busy month so far as well, with ambulance crews responding to almost 100 calls this month, with the ambulance service recently experiencing a mixture of slow and heavy call months.
More recently, the ambulance service accomplished a goal in training their employees and volunteers to the advanced EMT certification. The certifications allow Castle Rock’s ambulance service to remain in compliance with state training requirements as well.
Taylor said the certification allows them to better respond to the emergency calls they receive, but has noticed a downside to the additional training requirements as well. Taylor said volunteerism with the ambulance service has decreased and believes the additional training time needed for EMTs is part of the reason.
During the 1970s and 1980s, the ambulance service had no problem recruiting volunteers. Training for basic EMT certification involved 40 hours of work, a number Taylor says has increased to about 250 hours for the same certification. Prospective EMTS also are required to pass a number of tests and practical exams before earning their license. Taylor said the basic-level EMTs are required to know and perform the same procedures an advanced-level EMT would have known 30-40 years ago.
“We’re always trying to provide that good service to the community,” Taylor said.
Upgrading first responders to the advanced-EMT certification is a goal state health officials has had for ambulance services.
Taylor said he’s seeking more volunteers to help staff the ambulance crews. Bailie Dockter, CEO of the Castle Rock Hospital District, said a recent county-wide survey of ambulance service identified a unique challenge the district’s ambulance service faces in being a volunteer service with paid positions.
She said the study outlined various strengths in moving the service to shift the ambulance service to have only paid employees or utilize only volunteers, though Taylor isn’t sure how much of the study the ambulance service will be able to implement in the coming years.
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