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Serving Princeton, Rosewood, Brogden, E. Johnston Co., W. Wayne Co., North Carolina |
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ObituariesHeadlines Hester has county growth well in hand Johnston EMS system under scrutiny Girls basketball: Eagle girls fall to North Johnston Panthers • Lady Bulldogs take third win Boys basketball: Eagles still looking for win • Barefoot, Hinton take Bulldogs to victory Photos Princeton vs. North Duplin boys, girls basketball Rosewood vs. North Johnston boys, girls basketball Movies Cloverfield
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Johnston EMS under scrutinyBy Barry Merrill 23 January 2008 — A study of the county’s Emergency Response System has drawn some criticism locally. John Chew of EMSStar, a Maryland firm, presented a study to Johnston County Commissioners at their January 7th meeting during which he made a number of recommendations. One of those suggestions was for the county to regard EMS as a single system rather than coordinating separate units. His main concern was establishment of a response time goal across the county, as well as getting feedback on the service provided. Princeton Rescue Captain Eddie Haddock, contacted several days after the meeting, had a very terse response to the recommendations. “I think there could have been a lot better ways to spend that $40,000.” Retired Emergency Services Director DeWayne West, who had requested the study just before his retirement last year, appeared before the board with Mr. Chew and acknowledged the need for the study. One of the goals was to establish benchmarks for where the county system is today to help identify areas for improvement and to help establish reasonable goals. A number of firemen and rescue squad personnel attended the meeting, and most did not speak, they acknowledged that they read the report and for the most part supported the findings. Mr. Chew, who also serves as a county director for EMS, said the national response time goal is four minutes, the information they gathered puts the county’s present response time at closer to 15 minutes. He warned the commissioners that setting a lower response time goal is attractive to many, but in a rural system like Johnston, it can be very expensive to get a response time under eight minutes. “The shorter the response time, the more it costs.” He noted that getting more and comprehensive information on where calls are coming from and the volume of calls would probably suggest relocation of some EMS assets. He also called for a comprehensive look at long-term funding for the system. “EMS is not efficient or accountable. You should be data driven. How are you doing? How much does it cost?” The report offered 42 recommendations in ten different areas. “You want to develop a dashboard.” County Commissioner Wade Stewart, who serves on the EMS Advisory Committee, said that the report would not bring immediate changes, but they suggest some things the county should look at doing in the next year. “It’s going to take a while to listen to everyone and evaluate.”
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Wayne Wilson News Leader
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