Paramedics help design Lenoir County's newest ambulance

Submitted photo.

A new ambulance is on the way for Lenoir County.

The new ambulance, currently under construction in Ohio, will help Lenoir County Emergency Medical Services in keeping both their employees and the public safe.

Lenoir County EMS Commander Chris Johnson said it has been nine years since the county purchased a completely new ambulance, and they took the opportunity to upgrade the county’s equipment. 

“We built this ambulance from the ground up, and it’s the first time we have been able to customize an ambulance for our department,” Johnson said.

Lenoir County EMS Deputy Director James Hood said the new ambulance is the result of thinking of the employees and patients first. 

“We thought of what we can provide to the employee and the patient to make the overall experience better,” Hood said. 

Johnson said the county’s other ambulances are all built to a standard not designed by paramedics.

“This will be the first one in Lenoir County designed and put together by paramedics to help things flow better and put an emphasis on safety for the provider and the patient in the back of the truck,” Johnson said. 

The new ambulance has a much different seating arrangement than the county’s current fleet, along with a self-loading stretcher that will be a first for Lenoir County.

“The stretcher is not new to the profession, but it is new to our county because of previous budget restraints,” Hood said.

Though the new stretcher costs about $20,000 more initially, Hood said he believes the county will recoup the cost through savings on workman’s compensation injuries and improving the retention and length of employment for paramedics. 

“Paramedics often are forced to retire due to back, hip, or shoulder injuries from loading patients on the stretcher. We are really focused on making things safer for our employees, and it will save money because it costs a lot to train someone new. We don’t want to lose that experience and investment. So if we can invest in a piece of equipment to help with that, we will do it,” Hood said. 

Hood said the new ambulance will be delivered in January and will be rotated to all the assigned stations to serve the county. When it arrives, it will give the department a total of twelve ambulances. 

The department hopes to upgrade its entire fleet to the new style at the rate of about one ambulance per year, Hood said.