PARSONS – Tucker County Ambulance Authority Board President Kathy Kahler shared good news about average ambulance response times with Tucker County Commissioners Wednesday during their regular meeting.
“I just wanted to let you know for the first time since I have been tracking our EMS calls, we were under 20 average minutes for all of the areas that I track,” Kahler said. “For Parsons, that was a three minute average response time; for Parsons Area, it was eight minutes average response time; Canaan Valley area was a 14 minute average response time; Thomas had a 15 minute average response time; and Davis was 18 minutes. All the areas were under the goal.”
Kahler said she would prefer that response times for all calls were under the 20 minute mark but said she was pleased the average was at goal.
“Right now we are staffing station 1, in Parsons, 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” Kahler said. “We are staffing station 2, 12 hours a day, seven days a week. We are going to see how we do with that. We are only about 24 hours short of having a 60/40 ratio we were talking about. We have a lot of work to do to see how we can accomplish that. Right now we are holding at 24 hours a day in station 1 and 12 hours a day in station 2 while we figure out what we can do to meet our other goals.”
Commissioner Lowell Moore asked if the ambulances were traveling back and forth to divide the time up between the stations.
“They drive back and forth,” Kahler said. “Some of the calls they responded to in Thomas were 2 minutes, 4 minutes and 7 minutes, which is really awesome. I like to see them out, driving around and making their presence known.”
Commissioner Diane Hinkle said she felt it is important to get the information out to the public.
“Whether they are driving or staging, that there is a purpose to that,” Hinkle said. “It makes them more readily accessible to different areas. That’s not a negative. I know a lot of people have the perception they are wasting fuel or why are they hanging out in that parking lot. But there is usually a reason.”
“Will your budget support the hours that you are using?” Moore asked.
“That is what I am curious about,” Kahler said. “Our budget is okay right now. I am curious to see if we keep this schedule, if our budget will stay okay. We will see over time if we need to double the budget or not.”
Commissioners all thanked Kahler for the good service of the Tucker County EMS.
Moore thanked the Rev. S. Jeff Anderson, pastor at the First United Methodist Church of Parsons, for leading the prayer at the beginning of the Commission meeting and said he understood Anderson would be leaving Parsons.
“I will be reappointed to Moorefield,” Anderson said. “It’s been a pleasure to be here for 10 years. I have never been in one place more than 10 years. I have made many friends that will last a lifetime and roots that will never come up. There is a part of me that will always be here in Tucker County and I will miss you all.”
Moore said he appreciates the service Anderson gave to the area. “Thank you. We wish you well and we will miss you.”
In other business, Commissioners took the following action:
-Commissioners met April 21 and set the levy rate at 14.20 percent, which is the same as the previous year.
-Read a letter where Governor Earl Ray Tomblin reappointed Diane Hinkle, Brad Moore and Jessica Scowcroft to the Tucker County Cultural District Authority.
-Voted to appoint David Young to the Tucker County Planning Commission.
-Voted to declare May 7 as the National Day of Prayer. Moore asked that a prayer service be held on the steps of the Tucker County Courthouse that day.
The next meeting of the Tucker County Commission is slated for 9 a.m. May 13, in the Tucker County Courthouse Courtroom.
