Macon County EMS was started in 1973 as Macon County Ambulance Service.

It started with two ambulances and the personnel being “on call” for emergencies. The agency at that time could only render basic emergency life support.

Thirty-seven years later Macon County EMS has grown to a fleet of 6 ambulances and over 50 employees. The agency now delivers advanced life support. The ambulances are staffed with an EMT-IV and a paramedic. There are now three (3) bases located in the county with an on-duty crew assigned to each base. In addition during the week a “Day Unit” is available to answer over flow calls and it is stationed at the main base in Lafayette.

Last year Macon County EMS was able to purchase six new cardiac monitors. These monitors are from Physio-Control. They are called Life Pak 15s.

This monitor can provide several different functions: monitors your cardiac status, respiratory function and provide interventions to regulate your cardiac rhythm. In addition to this the monitor can perform 12 lead EKGs that can be sent via the Internet to local emergency rooms or to a larger cardiac facility for interpretation by the cardiologist. This cardiologist then can direct the EMS as to their treatment of the cardiac patient. Heart attack patients are now being directed to appropriate hospitals to receive the correct therapy for their cardiac condition. Macon County was very fortunate in that this $210,000 project was mainly financed by federal grant funds.

Macon County EMS has been doing a Stroke Initiative for over three years now. In this initiative if a patient presents with signs and symptoms of a stroke in a certain time window, that patient is taken either by ground or by helicopter to a stroke center for intervention. This initiative has been proven to improve the quality of life of Macon County’s stroke patients. Several Upper Cumberland Counties have adopted this initiative and the Tennessee Stroke Task Force is considering this as a state program for all rural counties.

We are in the process of developing and implementing an electronic patient care reporting (ePCR) system. In this system, then patient’s record would be in an electronic format. Such a system would improve data sharing between healthcare providers and improve patient safety. Macon County EMS has received grant funding from Homeland Security, USDA, and the Tennessee Department of Health to implement this system with a minimal cost to the county.

Recently, Macon County EMS was selected to serve as an example of a rural Tennessee EMS that provides a high quality pediatric care to its citizens. This selection was made by Tennessee EMS for Children (HYPERLINK "http://www.tnemsc.org"www.tnemsc.org) and Monroe Carroll Children’s Hospital in Nashville. In a site visit from the National EMS for Children organization and the federal Health Resource and Service Administration (HRSA), Macon County EMS made a presentation to the group that was well received. From this visit, several of the processes that Macon County EMS performs are being considered for national models.

Macon County EMS is a very progressive system in the care of pre-hospital emergencies. It also is emerging as a rural leader in the state and the nation. Macon County can be proud of its EMS system.