An ambulance can now get to accidents or other emergencies at some of the county’s busiest intersections significantly faster than in the past.
In the past, if an ambulance was needed at Whiteland Road and U.S. 31 or near the Whiteland interchange on Interstate 65, emergency workers were often coming from another community, such as Franklin, Bargersville or Greenwood.
But with a new partnership between the Bargersville and Whiteland fire departments, an ambulance is stationed in the town 12 hours a day, cutting response times as much as in half. Since beginning in January, the ambulance has made 270 runs and transported around 180 people.
The two fire departments joined together to add the ambulance service to cut down on longer response times. Previously, the fire department had an ambulance, but only volunteer staffing. That meant the truck could not run if staff wasn’t available. Now, the ambulance runs 12 hours a day, with a paid Whiteland EMT and a Bargersville paramedic.
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“I think we’re probably the first (community) to have these creative means of adding one, and it seems to be working very well,” Bargersville Fire Chief Jason Ramey said.
“Every time we add an ambulance into the system, it benefits the community.”
In the past, Whiteland would rely on Franklin, Greenwood and Bargersville fire departments to transport patients, Ramey said. If an ambulance from those areas wasn’t available, then it would come from White River Township.
“The ambulances are running through the county all day. So, that’s the resource that is the most limited,” Ramey said.
With a limited amount of ambulances in the area, response times could take 20 minutes or more, depending on where the ambulance was coming from and who was out responding to another call. Some areas, such as Bargersville and White River Township, are about 20 minutes away from Whiteland.
Now, the Whiteland fire department can provide all emergency care from start to finish without wondering where the ambulance will come from.
“We were providing service all the way up until they were ready to be transported,” Ramey said. “Then, it was sort of a guessing game. Who’s coming to get them, where are they coming from and how long is it going to take?”
This service has significantly reduced ambulance response times, Ramey said. Depending on where the ambulance has to go, wait times can be reduced by five to 15 minutes.
“It’s the drive time from either one of Franklin or Greenwood’s stations, versus coming right out of this station and following the fire engine straight to the scene,” Ramey said.
Bargersville paramedic Katrina Held said the shorter response times make a difference, even if it’s a few minutes. She grew up in a small town with the nearest ambulance come from 20 minutes away.
“People in my town would die from bee stings waiting for an ambulance,” she said. “No one should have to die from a bee sting.”
Both departments are sharing the costs of the service. Whiteland pays $25,000 for EMT staffing, and Bargersville pays $87,000 for paramedic staffing.
Bargersville manages the life support equipment, heart monitors and medications, which they already had at their station. Whiteland covers the ambulance.
In the future, Ramey would like to see more collaborations such as this one and see Whiteland run the ambulance service on their own, he said.
“They can have the data and the numbers and the facts to show their board that, ‘Hey we do enough calls and make enough money to do our own self-sustaining advanced ambulance,'” Ramey said.
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Here is a look at the new ambulance service in the Whiteland area that started this year, developed through a partnership between Bargersville and Whiteland fire departments:
Runs: 270
Patients: 180
Hours run: 12 hours, seven days a week.
Employment costs:
Whiteland: $25,000 for EMT staffing
Bargersville: $87,000 for part-time paramedic staffing
Response times: Reduced by five to 15 minutes, depending on location.
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