Healthcare Directory

2014-2015 Medical & Dental Directory | 5 Pearce is a strong believer in compe- tition. It allows his teams to get more practice under intense scrutiny. ere's a lot of pressure and pride at stake when being critiqued by peers while a clock is ticking. e practice pays off when EMS em- ployees go out on calls or work on the department's various special teams. Many of them work with city and county SWAT or special tactical teams, search- and-rescue missions, building collapse evacuation squads and hazardous mate- rial spill cleanup teams. e department even deploys special bicycle patrol teams to provide on-the-spot medical treat- ment at special events. Seeing paramedics ride through a crowd on bicycles may seem unusual, but ambulances aren't always the best option. ey are bigger, louder, more unwieldy to maneuver through crowds and far more expensive to operate. But they are the go-to-vehicle for most 911 calls. e health system has a fleet of 30 ambulances. Many are being replaced over the next few years at a cost of $135,000 each. Seventeen have already been replaced. Another six will be re- placed next year. e fleet is being updated because ambulances have a finite service life, as does any other motor vehicle. Most remain in service 250,000 to 300,000 miles, under lots of stop-and-go driv- ing conditions. Just the ambulances are being re- placed. ere is $200,000 worth of equipment inside each that will be transferred to the new ambulances. e equipment includes portable EKG equipment that can check for heart at- tacks and upload patient data straight to the hospital's computer network. Doctors can review that data and be waiting for the patient at the Emergen- cy Department if necessary. e technology isn't limited to inside the ambulance. EMS crews carry rug- ged laptops to enter patient information and send data over the Internet aer ar- riving at a call. e ambulances also have their own on-board computer network. It con- stantly transmits the vehicle's GPS co- ordinates so 911 radio dispatchers can track them. e dispatchers automati- cally know the best ambulance to mo- bilize aer a 911 call comes in. And knowing can make all the dif- ference when you've got a lot of terri- tory to cover and lives are at stake. Donnie Byers is the Public Rela- tions Coordinator for Cape Fear Valley Health Systems. c a p e f e a r v a l l e y b l o o d d o n o r c e n t e r this is more than a bag of blood. This is a father being able to walk his daughter down the aisle. This is a grandmother being able to kiss her first grandbaby. This is a teenage girl being able to go to prom. This is a child being able to laugh and play at the park. give life. give memories. give blood. saving lives locally : 910 615-life

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