Local community gets long-awaited ambulance service
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SHELLEY — After 50 years, the Shelley-Firth community has a local ambulance service.
On Friday, the Shelley-Firth Quick Response Unit became the Shelley-Firth Ambulance Service.
Firefighters, law enforcement and community members crowded into the ambulance bay at the Shelley-Firth Fire Department to officially launch the new service and acknowledge the years of work that went into it.
“It’s not quite the way we planned it,” EMS Chief Lyle Barney said, referring to the heavy snowfall that moved the ceremony indoors.
The Shelley-Firth QRU was established in the early 1970s by a group of volunteers who wanted to help their community. Volunteers would respond from the Shelley-Firth area in a utility vehicle outfitted with lifesaving equipment. They would begin first aid/initial lifesaving intervention until an ambulance from Idaho Falls or Blackfoot could take the patient to a local hospital.
As the community and neighboring towns have grown, so has the need for a timely response and advanced care.
“In recent years, our community has had unprecedented growth. The QRU call for service volume has doubled within the last few years,” Payton Holtom, a Shelley-Firth paramedic, told EastIdahoNews.com in a written statement.
With the increased call volume of a rapidly growing community, QRU members recognized the need to improve and expand its operation to meet the growing need for emergency medical services.
Until now, QRU personnel could offer limited advanced life support (ALS) care, including carrying basic emergency medications like EPI pens and more specialized equipment. Barney, Assistant Chief Ben Porter and many QRU personnel worked to establish a paramedic-level ambulance service for about two years.
In January, the unit passed its state inspection on its first attempt with 100% compliance and received its Paramedic Transport Ambulance license from the Idaho Bureau of EMS. Then, the department acquired two ambulances and outfitted them to the ALS Paramedic level.
“The new ambulances contain ICU-level lifesaving equipment such as a ventilator, manual defibrillator, pacer, cardioversion equipment, a mechanical CPR device and dozens of lifesaving IV medications,” Holtom explained.
An ambulance will be staffed by paramedics and EMTs 24/7.
“Current QRU members have gone through countless training courses to ready them for their new role on the ambulance,” Holtom explained. “We have hired several experienced paramedics (who) are experts in their field whom we can trust to provide excellent care.”
The ambulances are currently based at the Shelley station; however, the team hopes to add ambulances to the Firth station in the future.
Because the city will no longer be contracting with Idaho Falls and Blackfoot to transport patients, the Shelley-Firth Ambulance Service can use the revenue from transport services to cover staffing and equipment costs.
“This is part of our commitment to provide the highest quality care possible to our community,” Holtom said.
For Barney, this has been the culmination of 32 years of service to the community. The ambulance team took the opportunity to thank him with a commemorative plaque.
“You don’t make it this far without a good team,” he acknowledged. “Thanks again for all the support. We’re grateful for it.”
Watch the entire ribbon-cutting ceremony and speeches in the video player above.
