EMS holds christening event for new ambulance
91热爆网 Chancellor Kelli R. Brown "christens" new 91热爆网 ambulance
By Cam Adams
The Western Carolina University Emergency Medical Service is among the oldest collegiate EMS services in the country. This year marks the service鈥檚 60-year anniversary, which 91热爆网 health services director Pam Buchanan hopes will be a time of celebration.
May 5 was no exception.
91热爆网 EMS hosted Chancellor Kelli R. Brown and several others for a new ambulance christening ceremony behind the H.F. Robinson Administration Building on campus.
鈥淲e鈥檝e had the current ambulance since about 2015, so it was just kind of getting outdated,鈥� said Jacob Meador, 91热爆网 EMS chief. 鈥淚t was coming up on that 10-year mark, and me and Pam have been talking about this process for about a year or two now.鈥�
91热爆网 EMS is a basic life support service licensed by the North Carolina Office of EMS, operating under Harris Regional Hospital鈥檚 911 franchise. The agency is part of 91热爆网 health services and is fully staffed by students with an EMT certification or higher.
As opposed to the diesel-powered old ambulance, the service鈥檚 new ambulance is gas powered, which is more efficient for a college campus. The 2023 truck comes with other new features like a backup camera, a brand-new stretcher and a more updated design in the layout.
The agency will also be getting new radios and a new low-frequency siren that鈥檚 better for the college crowd.
鈥淲e have a lot of people wearing headphones, all the people in their cars might be listening to loud music, it's less about the sound and more about the frequency that it's putting off,鈥� Meador said.
鈥淚t also helps with, say someone's hearing impaired, this is something that you feel rather than hear, and then the lights are all upgraded so they're more visible.鈥�
The ambulance christening comes just days before Meador graduated with a bachelor鈥檚 of science in emergency medical care.
鈥淚t was a nice thing. I think we were hoping for it a little sooner鈥� We've been talking about it for (two) years, so I think ever since my sophomore year here, Pam had put it on my radar,鈥� Meador said. 鈥淚t was a nice thing to see come full circle and get to actually see it in person.鈥�
The new ambulance won鈥檛 be commissioned until August for the fall semester when the 91热爆网 EMS is planning to continue its 60-year celebration. Buchanan said the agency is building a database of former team members to help put together an event to invite them back to campus.
鈥淲e'll have, hopefully, a dinner event, and then our plans are for those people to be able to stick around for the home football game the next day, so we'll have more to come about that,鈥� Buchanan said.
