December turned out to be the busiest month of 2018 for Lifeguard Ambulance Service – which provides emergency medical services in Lamar County – with 446 requests for service and a total of 349 transports.
During a recent monthly update to the Lamar County Board of Supervisors, Lifeguard EMS Chief Ben Sones said the ambulance provider’s average response time to emergency calls was 8 minutes and 24 seconds to urban areas of the county, and 12 minutes and 13 seconds to the rural areas. For non-emergency calls, the average response time was 12 minutes and 3 seconds to urban areas, and 14 minutes and 13 seconds to rural areas.
The most common calls in December were general medical trauma, shortness of breath and psychiatric issues.
On the administrative side, Lifeguard officials have conducted a little restructuring regarding online training processes.
“We’re making sure all our paramedics are where they need to be (as far as training),” Sones said.
Lifeguard currently has openings for two full-time paramedics and one emergency medical technician.
“There is a local guy with the Purvis Fire Department who is taking his EMT national test, so I’m going to see if I can get him online,” Sones said.
In addition to Lamar County, Lifeguard Ambulance Service also provides services in areas of Texas, Oklahoma, Illinois, Tennessee, Florida, Alabama and South Carolina.
“We think that Lifeguard is doing an outstanding job,” Lamar County Administrator Jody Waits said in a previous story. “In particular, we think Ben Sones is doing an excellent job as the chief.
“We’re very happy with the service they provide and the relationship that we have with them in Lifeguard. It’s a partnership, and (Sones) functions seamlessly with the county, which is what makes it successful.”
