Fayette County EMS Year in Review
Leaders from the various departments of Fayette County government compiled the following reports on their activities in 2024. Look for more on Page B1.
As we approach the conclusion of another impactful year, Fayette County Emergency Medical Services (FCEMS) is pleased to present our Year-End Report, summarizing the key achievements, challenges, and advancements experienced throughout the past 12 months. This report provides a valuable insight into the dynamic and vital role our FCEMS team plays in ensuring the health and safety of our county.
Response Data
• FCEMS Responded to just over 4,056 calls for service year to date in 2024. Up slightly (by about 60 calls this year) we continue to live through the impacts of losing our local hospital. We have seen about a 20% average increase to our time on task due to the extended transports. We continue to take the majority of our patients to Columbus Community Hospital and Seton-Smithville. With most of our critically ill and injured patients still being taken to Austin either by ground or air ambulance.
• Inter-facility Transfers have been a significant source of revenue for FCEMS. Despite only taking a third to a quarter of the transfers we were able to take when Saint Mark’s was operational, we still saw an increase in revenue. Albeit muted somewhat by the lack of transfer volume and revenue. This has been due to multiple factors, mainly the increased amount of time on task that our ambulance spend due to the increased transportation times limiting our opportunities for taking transfers due to unit availability.
• FCEMS also responded to state-wide disasters as assets of the Texas Emergency Medical Task Force. In partnership with the Texas Division of Emergency Management; Fayette County EMS sent assets to 5 declared disasters, including Hurricane Beryl. This not only allowed us to help fellow Texans, but provided invaluable education and experience to our team on how to prepare better for disasters locally.
Training and Personal Development
• FCEMS has continued to build on our internal education program.
• We are also elated to share the accomplishments of many of the members on our team Andy Schwartz and Matthew Machacek have successfully achieved their Paramedic Certifications. Several more team members are currently enrolled in Paramedic programs as well and we are excited to watch them grow in their profession!
• Christina Sandoval was promoted to the rank of Lieu- tenant over the last year and has been doing a great job supporting the members of her team and learning her new responsibilities.
Community Outreach, Collaboration and Partnerships • We have provided CPR classes to several companies and individuals throughout the county over the year and that, as always has been rewarding both financially for our county’s budget and from the perspective that every time someone is trained in our community to provide these life-saving skills, we add to a layer of safety for those living and traveling through.
• We have continued to be blessed by having the opportunities to participate in local non-profit organizations and have had the honor to speak to Rotary Clubs, Lions Clubs, School Groups, etc. over the last year and have enjoyed getting to know the residents of our community.
• At last, our leadership has worked hard to engage with our local, state and federal elected officials to pursue every potential opportunity to resurrect a hospital within our community. We continue to work, with the support of leaders within our community, to re-build the healthcare infrastructure that once existed.
• Last but certainly not least, FCEMS was honored by the Texas EMS Alliance as the 2024, Texas EMS Agency of the year. This was awarded to our department as recognition for all of the things listed above but most especially due to the cooperation with our fellow public service organizations in the area. The cooperative relationships we have formed or improved over the last several years continue to serve as a force multiplier for us to be able to more effectively and efficiently respond to the needs of our community and most importantly, save lives.
Our entire department would like to take this opportunity to thank the taxpayers of Fayette County for their support of our mission and that of our team. Our EMS crews have a very difficult career that demands countless hours away from their families, to include missed holidays, birthdays, etc. We all chose this profession and the appreciation that we see day in and day out from our community reinforces the difficult decisions we must make to leave our families much more bearable. Our county and our department continue to face challenges as we move into the future. We would also like to thank, specifically, Colorado, Lavaca, Lee, and Washington counties for their partnership over the last year. It would be virtually impossible for us to deliver the level of service that we do without the help from our wonderful neighbors. Our part of Texas is a wonderful place to live because of friends like this. It is our commitment to the citizens of the county that we will always do our best with the resources entrusted to us to provide the most costeffective, clinically advanced, and patient centered EMS system in rural Texas.