Emergencies  on Rise

By: Karen Sloan / The Brunswick News

May 13, 2003

May 13, 2003 - If the echoes of sirens reverberating from Glynn County streets seem more frequent lately, it is probably because they are.

For the past several months, Glynn County ambulances have been called out more than before, and their demand shows no signs of slowing down.

"I started here eight years ago, and based on the number of calls we are getting now, it has been a steady increase," said Neal Mann, the Glynn County Fire Department captain of rescue. "I anticipate that it will continue to increase."

Through the first four months of the year, the county's six ambulances responded to 2,601 calls, with 698 runs in March setting a new monthly record, only to be topped by 726 runs in April.

Glynn County ambulances, which serve the city of Brunswick as well as the county, went out on 7,100 calls in 2002. At the pace of calls already recorded in 2003, the year could end with more than 7,800 runs.

The average ambulance call takes from an hour to an hour-and-a-half to complete; and after it is over, there are reports to complete and file.

An additional squad was added in January to help meet the increasing demands for emergency medical services. Mann said the sixth squad has been a great help. "It's transferred a lot of the burden off the five squads we previously had," Mann said.

He said the department's 26 emergency medical personnel are feeling the stress from the increasing work load, but have responded well to the extra demand.

"They have definitely expressed some concerns about making runs constantly, but they are dealing with it as best they can," said Mann. "They aren't the type to complain."

Mann attributes part of the increase of ambulance calls to the beginning of the tourist season, when an influx of visitors flock to the beaches on St. Simons Island.

Emergency medical technicians go on more calls than firefighters because an ambulance must respond to a call whenever a fire engine is called out; however, fire engines do not necessarily have to respond to medical calls.

Of the 698 calls ambulances responded to in March, more than half, 365, were medical-related. Medical technicians responded to 118 trauma calls, and the emergency squads went out 46 times on fire calls.

Emergency medical personnel transported people to the hospital in 73 percent of the calls to which they responded.

"It's a stressful job and a lot of people do it for a few years and discover that it's not really for them," Mann said.

Article reproduced with permission.

Original article:

The Brunswick News: "Emergencies on rise"