Sugar Land to begin city ambulance service Jan. 1 Sugar Land to start providing ambulance service Jan. 1

When the first ambulance rolls out of its bay on Jan. 1, a new era in public safety for Sugar Land will begin.

Since 2013, the Sugar Land Fire Department has been working to implement a city-wide EMS program that will better serve the area with greater ambulance coverage, faster response times and improved communication with area hospitals.

In an internal study conducted last year by the fire department, more than 60 percent of the calls to dispatch required EMS.

"We felt like we could improve how citizens are getting EMS service," said Assistant Fire Chief Mario Partida, who is overseeing the project.

Currently, Fort Bend EMS provides ambulance service for Sugar Land and the county. The city has been vocal in its desire to improve response times to calls. Consultants who worked with the city to develop the EMS plan suggested this could be accomplished with an improved dispatch system

All 911 calls go to the city dispatch and then medical emergencies are transferred to Fort Bend EMS where the information must be repeated before the ambulance can be dispatched.

By eliminating the second call, transport can begin sooner, said Partida. When the Sugar Land EMS program begins, all calls will go to the city dispatcher and an ambulance or a fire truck will be sent.

Under the new EMS program, the number of ambulances in the city will double, also reducing the response time, according to authorities.

Fort Bend EMS designates two ambulances for Sugar Land, but those ambulances can also be dispatched to Missouri City or other surrounding areas if needed. Because Sugar Land owns and operates the ambulances and the service is only for Sugar Land residents, all four ambulances will be within city limits at all times.

After Jan. 1, Fort Bend EMS will maintain an ambulance in Greatwood, but otherwise will not service Sugar Land.

In addition to improved dispatch capabilities and greater control over ambulance locations, the new ambulances include state-of-the-art equipment.

Nalco, a chemical supply company headquartered in Sugar Land, donated four video laryngoscopes for each of the ambulances. The laryngoscopes allow paramedics to more accurately perform a laryngoscopy and quickly establish airways for patients.

The city has invested $55,858 on computer tablets to implement a Patient Care Reporting system to be used by paramedics in the field to ensure local hospitals have access to information prior to the arrival of patients.

"A lot of it focuses on communicating with the emergency rooms earlier," said Partida. "We want to give our local emergency rooms, more advanced information. We hope that will improve patient outcomes if the ERs can prepare for the patients who are coming"

The ambulances are also equipped with special safety and performance features including five-point harness systems for paramedics, a traffic pre-emption system, a hydraulic lift for the primary oxygen bottle, cardiac monitor securing device, station exhaust system adapter and LED lighting.

The city has budgeted a little more than $689,000 for fiscal year 2014 for start-up EMS expenses.

To man the new ambulances, the city hired an EMS battalion chief, two additional dispatchers and 11 firefighters. Ten firefighters already in the department recently completed a rigorous paramedic academy established on site and conducted by Texas A & M University

"One of the goals was to have flexibility," said Partida. "The firefighter paramedics we have will be moving from assignments on the fire truck to the ambulance. It gives us a lot of flexibility and a larger network of employees to provide the service."

Although the Sugar Land EMS will almost exclusively service Sugar Land, the county as a whole also benefits from the addition of four more ambulances, officials said.