Sublette EMS awarded $87,418 grant
by Sublette County Rural Health Care District media release
May 19, 2010
The EMS Department of the Sublette County Rural Health Care District is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a total grant amount of $87,418 through the federal Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) program.
The AFG grant award will fund the following areas for the EMS Department:
1. Training - The funded training activities will upgrade the skill level of 12 EMS staff to EMT-I; certify 2 EMS staff as Emergency Vehicle Operator Course (EVOC) trainers; and provide EVOC driver’s training to 39 EMS staff. The EMT training will allow more shifts to be covered by EMT-I personnel and will greatly increase the level of care administered to patients in the field and in transport, as well as to those patients awaiting transport by life-flight. The EVOC training will significantly increase the availability of drivers thereby easing staffing constraints, will increase road safety for department personnel and the public as EMS responds to calls, and will insure the safety of patients during transport.
2. Equipment Acquisition – The funded equipment request includes two mass casualty trailers and one firefighter rehabilitation trailer. In the event of a mass casualty incident in Sublette County, or in a neighboring county, the mass casualty trailers will bring life-saving equipment to the scene quickly and will help insure that patients are triaged and treated efficiently and appropriately. The rehabilitation trailer will provide on-site firefighter rehabilitation and will insure the health and wellbeing of our volunteer firefighters.
3. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) – The funded PPE includes helmets for ambulance attendants and gloves for all staff; PPE will protect EMS staff from injury.
4. Wellness and Fitness – The wellness and fitness component of the grant covers entry-level physical examinations and periodic health screenings for EMS staff. These benefits will increase the health and wellbeing of the EMS staff with the goal of decreased time-off due to illness or injury. Additionally, these benefits should reduce healthcare costs for the department over the long-term. An overall goal of providing these benefits is to insure that Sublette County EMS personnel are physically capable to perform their duties.
The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Assistance to Firefighters Grants program is an important component of the Administration’s larger, coordinated effort to strengthen the Nation’s overall level of preparedness and ability to respond to fire and fire-related hazards. This program has been providing funding to fire departments and other first responders since 2001. To date, a total of $2.4 billion in grants through the AFG program have been awarded to first-responder organizations to purchase response equipment, personal protective equipment, and vehicles. The purpose of the AFG program is to award grants directly to fire departments and non-affiliated emergency medical service (EMS) organizations. These awards aim to enhance our first responder’s ability to protect the health and safety of the public, as well as that of first-responder personnel, with respect to fire-related hazards. Using a competitive process overseen by fire service subject matter experts, DHS awards grants to applicants whose requests best address the priorities of the AFG program.
|
