This week’s Rotary of Marion guest speaker was William Kehler, EMS Director, McDowell County EMS. William presented the plan for The Next Generation of EMS Services. William spoke about the past traditional role of the EMS which was simply call 911, the EMS responds and then transports to the hospital. The new plan approaches 911 calls differently through a process of partnering with other care providers. Instead of simply transporting to a hospital, paramedics will be trained to first screen the patient to assess needs, possibly refer to a care partner if hospitalization is obviously not need, and/or enroll the patient in community care. With grant money, re-training of EMS personnel, and cooperation with other county community providers, William’s goal is to achieve a community paramedic program. To learn more about this new way of thinking that will efficiently and effectively utilize our county’s healthcare resources, visit http://communityparamedic.org/

Written by Rotarian Steve Taylor and obtained from Marion Rotary Club’s Facebook page. For more information on Rotary membership contact 18 year Rotarian Steve Jones.