No Ambulance at Newest Aiken Emergency Substation
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No Ambulance at Newest Aiken Emergency Substation...
Saturday, Aiken County unveiled the newest, joint EMS and Public Safety substation, located on the south side of Aiken. EMS officials say they needed an ambulance on that side of town to keep up with...
Saturday, Aiken County unveiled the newest, joint EMS and Public Safety substation, located on the south side of Aiken. EMS officials say they needed an ambulance on that side of town to keep up with the high call volume and to be able to get to their residents faster. But there are no ambulance calls being run out of this station, because there’s no ambulance here. WJBF News Channel 6’s Joy Howe finds out why:
Published: January 12, 2009
Updated: January 12, 2009
Aiken, SC—When Crystal Pauli first heard an EMS and Public Safety substation was going up across the street from her house, she says she felt some added security.
She took her 2-year-old daughter to the open house on Saturday…but she didn’t find out until we talked to her that the ambulance bay is empty.
Crystal Pauli, Aiken, SC: “It’s a little surprising…now that I know there’s not an ambulance over there, it’s a little…it doesn’t feel as secure as it did.”
The station was built using the one cent sales tax, and this location was no accident. It was supposed to mean faster response times for Aiken’s south side.
Cindy Brazier, Aiken County EMS Training Officer: “And now we don’t have an ambulance, we don’t have an ambulance here.“
EMS training director Cindy Brazier says they don’t have the manpower to staff the station, because they don’t have the money to hire anyone.
Brazier: “Anytime one person is out in Aiken County EMS; that means there’s one ambulance that doesn’t run.“
Nine ambulances cover the county, but there are no extra people to staff them.
Brazier: “I’ve had a person who’s been out for a while, with a broken leg from work. And that happens, it’s a very difficult job and one person, one person means one ambulance that day for the taxpayers of Aiken County, and I don’t have that one person to replace.“
County Council members have seen the need, and are working on a rescue plan. They’ve voted to spend more money for EMS…money to hire more people.
Pauli: “If we don’t have the manpower to run that kind of stuff, we’re not going to be able to save people like that.“
...and give people like Crystal Pauli back the peace of mind….by filling that now-empty garage.
Aiken EMS officials are asking the council for enough money to hire 15 people. They’d like to have their side of the station up and running by July.
County Council Chairman Ronnie Young says he is promising they will provide funding; it’s just a matter of how much.
County Council will have two more readings on the proposal. Then council will present how much money they’ll allot the Aiken County EMS.
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Reader Reactions
This is not unusual for Aiken County EMS. They have been Shutting down stations for years due to the inability to man the stations. There have been stories in the news over the past several years on this, but there has still been nothing done. It is a lack of money that causes this. Aiken County is NOT lacking money!! There is a HUGE taxbase to tap into, but yet this vital service has lacked for years. I am a renter in the County or I would have already been to a County Council meeting to discuss the issue. Until the public gets involved and insists that the problem gets fixed, you can expect ambulance stations to go on being empty. Call your county council representative TODAY and express your concern!!!
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