Gilmer County Fire and Rescue has been named EMS Department of the Year for a region that includes 16 north Georgia and metro Atlanta area counties.
The honor was presented at the Northwest Georgia EMS Region 1 Awards Banquet held in Canton earlier this month. It recognizes “excellence in prehospital care and going above and beyond” in serving the community during 2020.
The many challenges faced by EMS crews last year lend added significance to the recognition, confirmed Gilmer County EMS Chief Russell Brown.
“It was the year of COVID, and the (regional) committee found that we contributed an excessive amount to the community here during the year. They said we’d contributed above and beyond and were still able to maintain an increase in 911 call volume,” Brown added.
That increased call volume, first-time safety precautions and adhering to rapidly changing state and local COVID-19 regulations were among the challenges in a year like no other in recent memory.
“When COVID first hit in March 2020, the call volume actually dipped by 50 percent because people were afraid to go to the hospital. That was a nationwide trend. Then, it did a really sharp increase. We had our normal call volume with COVID on top of that,” Brown said.
Special precautions had to be taken for each and every EMS call, Brown noted.
“It was completely new to every single one of us. They had to wear gowns, gloves, goggles and a mask, even during the summertime, and take all the precautions like cleaning the truck afterward to make sure it wasn’t going to get passed from patient to patient,” he added.
The fire and rescue department’s COVID-related outreach included a new paramedicine team that assisted with vaccination and COVID education efforts, using the firehouse as a temporary vaccination site and assisting with immunization efforts at the county health department.
Hospital travel times also increased with nearby facilities unable to immediately take in patients. It wasn’t unusual for patients to be taken to medical facilities in Cherokee, Union, Gordon, Whitfield or Murray County, Brown noted.
“We were shorthanded, but this workforce stayed on top of everything and never hesitated to go on a call or help the hospital out when we possibly could. I didn’t have one single person try to take off work an extra amount of time. They never hesitated and they did go above and beyond. I can’t brag on them enough. I will always have an attachment with that certain group because they saw their way through and did their jobs the way they were supposed to,” said Brown about the agency’s EMTs and paramedics, who are also crosstrained as firefighters.
“It’s a combined department. Even if you’re assigned to a fire truck, you’re running (EMS calls),” he added.
The 16-county EMS region also includes Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade, Pickens, Floyd, Fannin, Bartow, Cherokee, Haralson, Murray, Gordon, Paulding, Polk, Walker and Whitfield.
Gilmer Fire and Rescue received a plaque they can keep, as well as a trophy that award recipients keep for a year. The trophy is then presented to the next receiving department the following year.
“It was probably the most challenging year anyone’s had in EMS. We had to change our whole protocol and how we responded to calls, ” said Fire Chief Daniel Kauffman about 2020. “We’re just thankful that we have a senior staff and the crews who are out there running the calls. They’re the men and women who go out there every day and do the job.”
Although the county’s COVID case numbers have gone down, the local EMS department continues to respond to a high number of calls, Brown noted.
“Right now, it’s all we can do to keep up with our 911 call volume. It’s been steadily rising since June or July (2020),” he added.