A new $230,000 ambulance, due in mid March, should help alleviate service calls for the St. Charles Parish EMS at peak times.
“As healthcare professionals, our priority is our patients,” St. Charles Parish Hospital EMS Director Ken Rousseau said. “We are dedicated to providing safe, prompt and reliable transportation while delivering the highest level of quality and service our patients deserve.”
Rousseau said the price tag of the ambulance includes innovations within, including an AutoPulse system that keeps performing chest compressions on patients, allowing the paramedic to perform other life-saving tasks. Paramedics will also be able to send EKG readings while en route to the hospital for review by a heart specialist, which Rousseau hailed as an “enormous step forward.”
“This new ambulance, along with our highly skilled EMTs and paramedic providers and the equipment we have on board, is like having a hospital on wheels,” Rousseau said.
The equipment could not come too soon, according to Luling Volunteer Fire Department Chief Craig Petit. Petit said his department responds to a large number of medical emergencies.
“That taxes us pretty heavily, because it keeps our units constantly on the go,” Petit said.
Currently, the St. Charles Parish Hospital EMS allocates one ambulance to the East Bank and another to the West Bank.When asked if additional paramedics were also going to be hired, Rousseau said that they are always looking for qualified paramedics to join their team.
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