In 1972, the legislature
passed the Emergency Medical Services Act, which created the Division of
Emergency Medical Services as an agency under the Department of Public Health
(House Bill 1444, Chapter 749, Public Acts of 1972, 87th General
Assembly). This Division of EMS was created to provide statewide
standards for training of personnel, to provide criteria for ambulance
configuration, to provide minimum equipment standards, and generally to
oversee and to coordinate efforts toward improved emergency medical care.
The Rutherford County
Ambulance Service became operational at 12:01 a.m., October 15, 1972. From
October 15, 1972, until March 31, 1977, all ambulance operations were based at
Rutherford Hospital at the invitation of the hospital. In December 1976, the
hospital rescinded its invitation, citing lack of space as a reason, and
requested that the Rutherford County Emergency Medical Services remove its
operations by June 30, 1977. At the gracious invitation of the City of
Murfreesboro, RCEMS operations were moved to McFadden Community Center on
April 1, 1977.
With the increased volume of
ambulance calls, the addition of personnel, and the change to twenty-four hour
shifts, the McFadden location quickly became over-crowded. In 1987, Middle
Tennessee Medical Center offered the free use of one of its buildings as an
ambulance headquarters. Upon inspection, it was decided that this building
needed additional garage space and sleeping quarters in order to be suitable
for an ambulance headquarters. A satisfactory arrangement was made between
Middle Tennessee Medical Center and Rutherford County Government to lease this
building for twenty years, with the cost of the lease being exactly the cost
of the building improvements.
Prior to moving from the
McFadden location (as our call volume continued to increase) a need became
obvious for an ambulance to be located in the Smyrna area. A one-room
aluminum storage building was placed on the old Smyrna Hospital property (just
off of Hwy. 41-70), where a 24-hour team was placed to cover the North end of
the county. We moved from that location when a new Smyrna Hospital and
ambulance station were constructed further down Enon Springs Road.
The next station was located
in Eagleville after the Eagleville City Council opted to provide their
citizens with an EMS facility and quarters. LaVergne City Council later
provided a station in their city. These stations are provided at no cost to
Rutherford County.
Rutherford County is one of
the fastest growing counties in Tennessee. Rutherford County Emergency
Medical Service continually strives to keep up with the astounding growth by
adding stations throughout the county in order to provide quick response to
the county residents. We now have a total of ten stations and one
Communication/Dispatch Center. The Murfreesboro stations are located across
from the hospital, on MTSU property, on Old Salem Road, in the Blackman
community, and in the Siegel community. Other stations are staffed in
Eagleville, Christiana, LaVergne, with two stations in Smyrna. A building
will be constructed this year, which will house a 24-hour team highly trained
in Special Operations, such as Dive, Swift Water, High Angle, and Trench
Rescue, as well as Hazardous Materials.
The Ambulance Service is
wholly funded under the General Fund of Rutherford County and operates through
the jurisdiction of the Rutherford County Board of Commissioners, with
guidance from the Public Safety Committee. The County Mayor, the fiscal agent
that oversees the General Fund, is responsible for the Ambulance Service. The
Director reports directly to the County Mayor.