Alamance County EMS has four 24 hour shifts. Each shift is assigned a Supervisor and Assistant Supervisor that are responsible for the daily operations oversight.
There are 18 – 19 EMT/Paramedics per shift. Every shift has 7 – 8 ALS (Advanced Life Support) units and 3 ALS Medic Units that run 24 hours. Two BLS (Basic Life Support) units are staffed Monday thru Friday 9 a.m. until 7 p.m.
County & City Fire Departments assist ACEMS on medical calls and motor vehicle accidents. First Responders with the fire departments arrive on the scene and are able to assess the patient and perform basic life support before the ambulance arrives. This can include performing CPR, obtaining patient vitals signs, hemorrhage control, spinal immobilization and administering oxygen.
Once the ALS transport unit arrives on the scene, Paramedics can begin providing the patient with advanced life support. Cardiac monitoring, establishing IVs, maintaining an airway, administering medications can all be done while en route to the hospital.
The two BLS units transport patients to and from doctor’s appointments, back to the patients home or a nursing facility after discharge from hospital. These units also will back up the ALS units when all units are out on calls.
At the beginning of each shift, personnel perform daily checks of their assigned unit to check all equipment and supplies. In addition to the units being checked and cleaned, janitorial base duties are completed each morning.
