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another step
Residents in and around Fair Bluff can now rest a little easier.
Should a medical emergency occur in or around Fair Bluff, the level of emergency care is now at the same level as that of Charlotte and Raleigh.
Fair Bluff became the second rescue squad in the county to reach the highest level of pre-hospital care in North Carolina -- paramedic (Whiteville Rescue is also paramedic).
Becoming a paramedic is not an easy task. Certification requires nearly 1,000 hours of classroom time and clinical rotations with other paramedics and at Columbus Regional Healthcare System, which sponsors the county’s advanced life support system.
Southeastern Community College trained this new class of paramedics. Dr. Fred Obrecht, county medical director, is responsible for the county’s EMS workers.
Fair Bluff Rescue was operating at the next-to-highest level of EMS before being granted paramedic status by the state. With the additional training, Fair Bluff paramedics will be able to perform such procedures as giving medications for severe pain and doing tracheotomies for obstructed airways, in addition to being able to do procedures like defibrillation and administering numerous cardiac and respiratory medications.
The Fair Bluff advancement is another step for EMS in Columbus County, which has come literally from the bottom of the heap to a system that works.
In addition to Fair Bluff and Whiteville being at the paramedic level, three other volunteer squads, Tabor City, Lake Waccamaw and ADR, operate at the next highest level.
None of this would be possible without the implementation of a 2-cent EMS tax several years ago that allows for paid personnel to be placed at all nine rescue squads. Calls that in the past never would have been answered are now answered mostly in a timely manner.
Congratulations to Fair Bluff Rescue, which traditionally has been on the forefront of change in the county EMS system, and to the other EMS workers, both paid and volunteer, who continue to seek advancements that will saves lives.