Louisville Metro EMS - Deployment - Equipment - Ground Transportation

Ground Transportation

LMEMS utilizes a fleet of modular ambulances manufactured by Lifeline Emergency Vehicles from Sumner, Iowa and Ford Explorer response vehicles called chase-cars. Currently three styles of ambulances are in use. Specimens of the former LFD and JCEMS (slant-sided) ambulance types remain in use until retirement with new paint and striping. The newest (post-merger) ambulances retain the straight-side feature of the former LFD type and are taller, longer, and heavier. The new design includes a more powerful, greater torque-producing engine (Navistar turbo-charged diesel), and a more spacious patient compartment (6 foot ceiling).

In 2012, Ford Motor Company announced they would no longer manufacture the Econoline van ambulance prep package and subsequently LMEMS has opted to begin procuring Type I vehicles based on the F-450 pickup truck chassis. The first delivery of Type I ambulances occurred in 2013.

Most LMEMS response vehicles, including all ambulances, are fitted with satellite transponders that constantly track the exact location of the vehicle, map the potential route to a call, and determine which unit is closest to the emergency.

All ambulances are stocked with a full complement of advanced life support equipment including LifePak 15 cardiac monitor–defibrillators, oral and intravenous medications and fluids. Each ambulance can transport up to three fully immobilized patients. All crew members are trained and equipped with protective gear to treat patients potentially contaminated with hazardous materials.

All charting and patient care information is collected and distributed electronically, eliminating paperwork and reducing the possibility of patient privacy compromise. Electrocardiographs (EKG) can be transmitted wirelessly from the cardiac monitor to the receiving hospital in the advance of the patient's arrival.

Read more about this topic:  Louisville Metro EMS, Deployment, Equipment

Famous quotes containing the word ground:

    Nor must Uncle Sam’s Web-feet be forgotten. At all the watery margins they have been present. Not only on the deep sea, the broad bay, and the rapid river, but also up the narrow muddy bayou, and wherever the ground was a little damp, they have been, and made their tracks.
    Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)