EMS Standbys
JCESA Staffing Plan for EMS Standbys
8/15/2023
Jefferson County has a long-standing tradition where the Volunteer Fire Departments (VFDs) have provided EMS standby services for fairs, festivals, athletic events, etc. Since March 1, 2023, the ambulance portion of Jefferson County’s EMS services are now owned by the County of Jefferson and operated through the ESA. We recognize the need for the continuation of these services. The ESA will accomplish this primarily using non-staffed reserve ambulances (back-up units) along with continued partnerships with the VFDs who now maintain Rapid Response Licenses/Units.
We have developed a request form for these services. Once a request is received, we will evaluate the resource needs:
- Rapid Response Unit (RRU) Basic EMT service
- Ambulance
- Dedicated or Non-dedicated
- Basic (2 EMTs) or ALS (1 EMT/1 Paramedic)
If the ESA determines that there are adequate resources to handle the request, then the Standby Agreement will be formalized conditionally approved. We will reach out to our RRU VFDs to determine their interest and availability. The remaining needs will be accomplished using ESA off-duty personnel. The personnel may be part-time or full-time which may incur overtime expenses. The ESA will also have expenses when using ESA Ambulances or ESA RRUs. For this reason, the Standby Agreement has service fees charged to the requesting person(s)/entity(s) These fees must be accepted prior to finalization of the contract approval.
Only under very limited circumstances will a staffed Ambulance be deployed from its duty station to perform a standby.
This would be:
- Non-dedicated: the unit would be able to respond immediately from the event.
- Must be within a limited distance of their duty station
- Short in duration: 2hrs or less
- Typically reserved for Middle School Football games in Charles Town, Harpers Ferry, and Shepherdstown but may include other events at the discretion of ESA Director or designee.
At no time will the ESA deploy ambulances or personnel for standby services where it may create a hardship on the system or a delayed response to the residents, businesses, or visitors of Jefferson County.
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