The Texas County Memorial Hospital ambulance fleet is sporting a new decal recognizing the ambulances for their pediatric preparedness as designated by Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC) in Missouri.
Missouri EMSC began a project in 2008 to work with emergency medical service providers throughout the state to ensure that they had the proper equipment and training to care for pediatric patients. As part of this program, all five TCMH ambulances are required to have proper pediatric equipment and protocols.
Bill Bridges, EMS director at TCMH, explained that although the program and inspection were new to the TCMH ambulance fleet, the hospital’s ambulances were already equipped, protocols were already in place and staff was already trained in the specialized care of pediatric patients in an emergency.
“We didn’t have to buy anything or put anything in place to receive recognition by the EMSC,” Bridges said. “The hospital has always been committed to and will continue to provide the highest quality of care for our patients, including children.”
The TCMH ambulance service is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The department employs 15 paramedics and 14 EMTs that staff bases in Licking, Houston and Cabool. Each advanced cardiac life support ambulance is equipped with Broselow/Hinkle pediatric emergency bags and tablet computers for documentation.