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AMBULANCE DIRECTOR HOURS OF OPERATION |
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IT'S NOT JUST THE LAW,
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Oscoda County Ambulance Service Brief History The Oscoda County Ambulance service came into being around 1960 when three local men, Joe Larrison, Gloyd Money, and Paul Starry decided to start a service to help the community when emergencies arose. Joe Larrison owned Larrison's Funeral Home and the hearse was used as the first ambulance in the county. It was a true family affair back then as all members of the family helped with the operation of the Ambulance Service. The ambulance service was run by the Larrison's until 1973, at this time the Ambulance service was turned over to the Sheriffs Department. Jack Kann and Donnie Smith were instrumental in running the service at this time and the ambulance rigs were staffed mostly by Deputy Sheriffs. Jim Neff (former Sheriff) also ran and staffed the Ambulance service. The service continued to be run by the Sheriff's Department until 1989 when its first Director was hired. Sally Galbraith was hired as a part-time Director was hired. Sally Galbraith was hired as a part-time Director. The Ambulance then became known as "The Oscoda County Ambulance Service". During this time Medical Control was being established and the service had around 20 volunteers, serving as drivers and EMT's. They had one rig stationed in Mio and one rig in Fairview. In 1990, the Ambulance service obtained two hand held radios on the Sheriff's frequency for use by the Ambulance service. All dispatch was done over the phone. There were 435 runs that year. 1991, there were 459 runs. The Ambulance continuously up-graded new equipment carts. In 1992 a millage for ambulance radios and equipment was passed. The 1989 ambulances was paid off. A computer system was installed to assist in billing and the Ambulance Advisory Board was instituted. 1993, they purchased two new ambulances, one for Fairview and one for Mio. Giving each station 2 rigs. Purchased equipment and hand held radios for EMT's allowing much faster response time and communication during dispatch and while on the scene. Millage expired and was not renewed and we continued to use this funding until 2004. 1995, First AED put in Ambulances. An AED is an automatic external defibrillator, a device that can be used to defibrillate someone who's heart has stopped. There were 631 runs. 1996 there were 605 runs. 1997 A new garage was built at the Sheriff's office to house ambulances, this was built with milllage money. (Apr. $25,000.00) There were 615 runs. 1998, There were 656 runs. 2000, A new Ambulance Building was built by the County using funds recovered from a lawsuit at the landfill and some Ambulances funds. There were 791 runs. 2001, Hired 2 full time EMT's - 36 hours per week. Staffed remaining 12 hour shifts with part time staff. We are now on duty 24 hours a day 7 das a week. Continue to use call ins for additional and multiple patient runs. Received ATV grants and purchased ATV for retrieving patients from in accessible areas. There were 791 runs. 2002, State started inspecting the ambulance service. County Board of Commissioners made the Ambulance Director a part time salaried position. First operation millage was approved by voters. There were 780 runs. 2003, Began up-grading ambulance radios to meet new state requirements. This was the first year we started using Accumed as our billing service. There were 855 runs. 2004, This is the year we used our existing ambulance and installed new chassis under them. There were 818 runs. 2005, The cell phones were updated to the new Digital service. Implemented new computer system for patient care records to meet the upcoming State of Michigan requirements for record sharing via the internet. There were 867 runs. 2006, Oscoda County Ambulance Service contracts with Tri Town Ambulance Service to supply Oscoda County with Advanced Life Support for the whole county 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Previously we had agents in place with North Flight, MMR, and Ogemaw County for ALS Service. Oscoda County Ambulance Service has supplied Oscoda county Residents with first class Ambulance service since 1960, doing this with little or no cost to the taxpayers. The ambulance service has been a Basic Life Support Service for many years. (Definition of Basic Life Support- is a specific level of pre-hospital care provided by trained responders including emergency medical technicians, in the absence of advanced medical care. Basic Life Support consists of a number of life-saving techniques which are focused on the "ABC"s of pre-hospital emergency care:
BLS may also include considerations of patient transport such as the protection of the cervical spine and avoiding additional injuries through splinting and immobilization. Oscoda County Ambulance Service has been striving to supply Advance Life Support to its residents of Oscoda County. (Definition of Advanced Life Support- Advance life support (ALS) is medical care provided by paramedics trained to assess a patient's condition, administer drugs, defibrillate and provide advanced airway management prior to transportation to the hospital.) With a lot of hard work from our Ambulances service and requests from our County residents Oscoda County will have Advanced Life Support starting June 1, 2006. This has been an overview of the history and progress that are Ambulance service has made over the years, with a lot of improvements to better serve our residents. Through Community support in the past has helped our service move forward in emergency care.
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