Call EMS, don’t drive: New ambulance coming

EMS Administrator Robert Lamb states it in plain and simple language, “If you are having a medical emergency, don’t drive yourself to the hospital. If a loved one is having a medical emergency, don’t drive them to the hospital. Call EMS.”

Lamb, District Administrator for North Hays County Emergency Services District 1 (ESD 1), states that is the basic message he consistently tries to get across to the community. “If you think you’re having a heart attack, or other medical emergency, the worst thing you can do is to try to get yourself to an emergency medical facility. If you pass out while driving, not only can you hurt yourself, but you could potentially kill somebody else when you lose control of your vehicle,” Lamb said.

“The same applies if a family member is having the medical emergency, don’t drive them yourself. At best you’ll be a distracted driver. You would also not be in a position to render aid if the person loses consciousness or stops breathing,” Lamb said.

By contrast, ESD 1 ambulances are equipped with trained personnel, equipment and medicines that could make a vital difference in the early minutes of a medical emergency, Lamb said.

“All our ambulances are Mobile Intensive Care Units, not just basic life support ambulances. A basic life support ambulance is fine for a person who may have simple minor trauma, or who may simply not be feeling very well. But for a person suffering a heart attack, a stroke, or serious trauma to the chest, neck, or head, the Mobile Intensive Care Unit can provide a much higher level of care. The reason for our upgraded intensive care units is because of the transportation time required for us to get a patient to the closest hospital inAustin,” Lamb said.

“For a heart attack patient our paramedics can administer special drugs that can slow down the heart attack and buy the time required to get the patient to a hospital that can basically fix the heart muscle and save the life. If a person is having trouble breathing, our paramedics can determine why the person can’t breath, and apply emergency treatment ranging from a breathing tube, to medications. Ditto for strokes, snakebites, or severe trauma such as collapsed lungs, major bleeding fractures, spinal injuries. If the heart stops, we have heart defibrillators and chest compression machines,” Lamb said.

ESD 1 serves North Hays County, with an estimated 35,000 population, and responds 90% of the time within 9 minutes and 18 secondsif the caller is close to Hwy 290 and 17 minutes and 39 seconds if outside that area. “It’s worth waiting the that time for us to get there. I understand it can be difficult, and that the emotional response is to get in the car, but please call us. It’s the best thing you can do,” Lamb said.

The challenge ESD 1 faces is keeping its response time down given the dramatically rising population for North Hays County and increase in traffic on Hwy 290 passing through Dripping Springs. “We currently have 2 ambulances on call. When both are out, we call that a ‘level 0,’ and call in back-up ambulances into standby from San Marcos or Kyle,” ESD 1 Board President Walt Krudop said. “We’re seeing more calls, more traffic, and seeing an older population too. With the citizens’ support in passing the sales tax for the ESD we’ll be adding a third ambulance in early 2019. We have a 10-year strategic plan and are taking a more proactive approach to letting people know what our service levels are and the challengeswe face.”

In the month of July, ESD 1 received 175 calls, and saw “level 0” for 25 hours in the month. EDS 1 has seen a rise of 8% in in the past year and the demand for EMS services is expected to continue on an upward slope.