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Emergency Medical Service (EMS) is the primary agency responsible for the pre-hospital care and transportation of persons who become acutely ill or injured and are in need of ambulance transport to a hospital using Advanced Life Support ambulances.

By the Numbers

• Annual Operating Budget 2010-2011: $10,052,418.00

• Collections Returned to General Fund 2009-2010: $5,234,616.00

• Population of Rutherford County: 262,604 (2010 Census approx.)

• Distance of Community Served: 615 Square Miles

• Number of Calls or Requests for Service in 2010: 18,884
  

Ambulance Division
The Ambulance Division is responsible for providing the best prehospital emergency medical care to the sick and injured citizens and guests of Rutherford County. According to recent statistics we receive roughly 62 calls per day.

The Ambulance Division is comprised of 14 Medic Units receiving calls from the 911 Dispatch Center. These Medic Units are spread out across Rutherford County better allowing for us to respond in the most effective and efficient manner.

Along with the emergency treatment and transport of patients, the Ambulance Division is also responsible for providing medical coverage for special events throughout the County. Paramedics are present at a large variety of special events.

Special Events Division
When the stadiums, parks and neighborhood attractions of Rutherford County draw in a large crowd, RCEMS is ready to provide onsite emergency medical care to the citizens and visitors. RCEMS is dedicated to serving the needs of the public and makes its personnel available and prepared at each one of these events with array of equipment should any problems present themselves.

Bicycle Medics
In 1996 RCEMS started utilizing bicycles to provide medical coverage for large spectator events. These bicycles, staffed with paramedics and ALS equipment, are able to offer medical care to the citizens and visitors of Rutherford County faster than the traditional method when dealing with large crowds. The bicycles also have the ability to traverse difficult terrain that would otherwise only be accessible by foot.

Education Division
Training to become a Paramedic requires thousands of hours of preparation, dedication and hard work. Paramedics are constantly updating themselves and the equipment and skills required to perform at their best. It is the role of the Training Division to keep the Paramedics prepared for whatever they may encounter.

Paramedics are required to maintain national certifications for ITLS or PHTLS, ACLS, and PALS.

To ensure that every Paramedic receives annual training, the EMS Training Division is dedicated the task of education. The division consists of 7 Station Managers assigned as training officers to handle the workload. In addition, experts in emergency medicine with specialized training are brought into the Division as needed to assist in training subjects that are not part of everyday, routine operations. There are also many Field Training Officers to assist in the hands-on training that is given to many Paramedic students, emergency physician residents, RNs and so on.

Many of our Paramedics are certified as instructors and evaluators in a wide range of related Public Safety disciplines. These include Emergency Medicine, Rescue, Hazardous Materials and more. These RCEMS Paramedics routinely share their knowledge and skills with responders. Many of our personnel are sought after technical instructors in their fields of expertise.

The Training Division also provides a range of educational opportunities. The Training Division assists in facilitating CPR/AED (automatic external defibrillator) classes for other county departments. The Training Division is also responsible the First Responder programs of Rutherford County.

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