Taylor County welcomes new EMS locations
TAYLOR COUNTY, Texas ( KTAB/KRBC ) – Taylor County has two new emergency medical services locations. This move came after the Taylor County Commissioners Court approved a five-year contract with Taylor County Emergency Medical Services earlier this year.
On Friday, October 4, we will celebrate the ribbon cutting for the Merkel location on 1003 Ash Street. The other area is on Kent Avenue in Tuscola. David Allman, Executive director for Taylor County EMS, says this has been a long time in the making. Allman says that since 2017, Merkel has not had EMS services since a volunteer service shut down due to a lack of volunteers.
Over the years, both Merkel and Tuscola have grown in size. However, the demand did not match the resources available; now, we are thankful to have an EMS crew back to help save lives. It is possible to cut an average response time from 18 to 20 minutes in a rural area by about half.
"We had on our first day a stroke patient here in Merkel, and from the time the call was dispatched from 911 and the time our crew transported the patient to the hospital was nine minutes, EMS providers paramedics EMTS that have a servants heart they are not here for the pay because historically EMS is not a great high paying career field there here for the job, the duty, the communities that they love" explained Allman.
Longtime resident Joel Terry says having access to rural healthcare is critical. His daughter previously worked as a paramedic, so he saw firsthand why this resource is needed. Terry says this is not only a win for Tuscola but also for the surrounding areas of Buffalo Gap and Ovalo.
"We're extremely excited that this has happened. As you know, Tuscola has grown considerably over the last several years. Our school has grown, so we have seen lots of new residents. To have a full-time ambulance service is just amazing, and we're excited about it. It will benefit this community, the surrounding area lawn, and Ovalo. We're thrilled the commissioner's court has made this step to make this possible for us here," added Terry.
The Tuscola EMS will start to make their presence known in Taylor County by attending high football games and other events to ensure residents know they are always there to help. The Taylor County commissioners also continue supporting the main EMS location in caps.
