Organization Overview

Rutherford County Emergency Medical Service is a county service which originated on October 15, 1972. Rutherford County EMS is the primary Advanced Life Support (ALS) provider for the County of Rutherford. EMS is funded by a property tax. Rutherford County EMS provides the citizens of Rutherford County with the following services:

• Advanced Life Support
• Dive Rescue/Recovery Medics
• Hazardous Material/Weapons of Mass Destruction Medics
• Public Event Medical Coverage
• S.W.A.T. Medics
• Bike Medics
• Public Service and Education Medics
• Special Rescue Operations Medics
• 911 Medical Communications/Dispatch
• First Aid/CPR Instructors

Number of response units:

• 11 Ambulance stations
• 11 ALS Ambulances
• 1 Critical Care Ambulances
• 22 ambulances
• 1 Special Operations Building
• 1 Dive Rescue/Swift Water boat
• 2 Special Rescue Units
• 1 Tactical Response Unit
• 6 4x4 ALS First Response Units
   

Annual operating budget:

• $9,301,552.00

  2006 Collections returned to General Fund:

• $4,258,900.00

  Population of Rutherford County:

• 181,000 total
  

Distance of community served:
615 Square Miles

Three twenty-four-hour shifts are responsible for all 911 operations and activities of the Ambulance Service. There are three Assistant Directors and three Supervisors, responsible for the day to day operations of Emergency Services in Rutherford County. 

Assistant Directors

•  Dwight Stone, EMT-P
•  Elaine Lowe, EMT-P
•  Lennie Fabian, EMT-P

Supervisors

• Barry Cameron, EMT-P
• Mike Jones, EMT-P
• Carl Hudgens, EMT-P

EMS Operations consists of eleven transport units operated from eleven substations around the county. These ambulances are responsible for the primary 911 medical response twenty-four hours a day. EMS units are staffed with a minimum of one EMT-Paramedic and one EMT who work twenty-four hour shifts. Crews have shift change at 7:00 am. Crews on the primary units are assigned stations throughout the county.

Each shift is assigned an Assistant Director and a Supervisor. The Assistant Directors are responsible for all daily operations of the shift and work twenty-four hour shifts. They  are part of the administrative staff and are also available to respond to calls in an ALS equipped 4x4 vehicles.

Rutherford County EMS currently staffs one Critical Care Inter-facility Transport Ambulance. They are on  station for 24 hours every day. These units transport critically ill and injured patients to surrounding hospitals therefore keeping 911 ambulances inside the county to reduce response times. This program has helped to keep our response times down.

Assistant Director for Critical Transport:

• Wendy Lampley, EMT-P