Ambulance Service (EMS)

Stephens County Emergency Medical Service has been in existence since July 1, 1969, making it one of the oldest county run services in the state. This was made possible when the Stephens County Board of Commissioners and the Stephens County Hospital Authority entered into an agreement whereby ambulance services would be provided via shared funding.

Stephens County EMS serves all of Stephens County with three advanced life support med units from two stations staffed 24 hours a day. Station One is north of the City of Toccoa on Ga. Hwy 17 and situated on the campus of Stephens County Hospital. This station houses two ALS med units that respond to 911 calls in the north region of the county and also handles critical care transports from Stephens County Hospital to larger specialized medical facilities. One ALS med unit is staffed at Station Two which is located on Ga. Hwy 17 south of Toccoa in Eastanollee. This station is responsible for the 911 medical responses in the southern part of Stephens County.

Stephens County EMS is staffed with 30 EMS providers and 6six advanced life support medic units (ambulances). Twenty staffers are Certified Paramedics and hold certifications in Advanced Cardiac Life Support, Pre-Hospital Trauma Life Support, Pediatric Advanced Life Support, and most hold instructorships in these specialized classes. Seven are trained as EMT-Intermediates with one in Paramedic training and others are waiting to begin their Paramedic class.

Most of our transports are to our local Emergency Department at Stephens County Hospital. We have also developed a partnership with the North East Georgia Medical Center to transport active heart attack victims directly from the scene to their cardiac catheterization lab for interventional cardiology. The traumatized patients that meet the criteria for trauma center care are rapidly and reliably transported via medical helicopter or ground transport to the closest appropriate level trauma center.

Our goal is rapid response, accurate assessment, aggressive treatment, and rapid and safe transport to the closest appropriate facility to insure the most favorable outcome for each critically ill or severely injured patient. We will continue to work, to train, to prepare, so that our patients may have the best chance to survive, that they might return to their families fully recovered with no physical or neurological deficits.