History
Southern Chester County Emergency Medical Services, Inc. (SCCEMS) began as an effort to bring advanced life support services to the southern part of Chester County. By 1983, there were three advanced life support units operating in Chester County. However, each had a 20 to 40 minute response time for life-threatening emergencies in the southern part of the County. Determined to improve EMS care, a task force was formed to study how to implement these services. This task force began its work in late 1982. Members of the task force included the Southern Chester County Medical Center as the major hospital in the area, St. Joseph’s Hospital in Lancaster (due to their existing ALS program and Paramedic Institute), St. Francis Hospital in Wilmington, and representatives from the local volunteer ambulance services in Oxford, West Grove, Avondale, Kennett, and Unionville. With such a dedicated, multi-dimensional group, within a few short months, a proposal was presented and startup preparations began for MEDIC 94 under the corporate name of Southern Chester County ALS (SCCALS).
After almost a year of hard work, MEDIC 94 went into service on October 15th, 1983. Mr. Jim Goss RN served as Coordinator for MEDIC 94 as well as Director of the Emergency Department at SCCMC. MEDIC 94-1 was a paramedic intercept type unit, stationed at the Southern Chester County Medical Center Emergency Department. The unit was equipped to handle advanced cardiac, medical and trauma patients with the most modern equipment.
A paramedic and a pre-hospital RN staffed MEDIC 94 24 hours a day. While not on calls, MEDIC 94 crews assisted in the SCCMC Emergency Department and other hospital care areas with patient care. A volunteer driver program was also initiated to provide opportunities for local volunteer Emergency Medical Technicians to assist the MEDIC 94 crews during calls. During the first year of operation, MEDIC 94 responded to 1271 dispatches.
In 1986, the Board of Directors of SCCALS changed slightly with the loss of representation from St. Joseph’s Hospital and St. Francis Hospital. The new Board makeup would be of representatives from SCCMC and the local BLS ambulance services. The Board worked in conjunction with SCCMC to develop fund raising activities for SCCALS. In 1988, the first Mushroom Open Golf Tournament was played to benefit MEDIC 94. A resulting Endowment Fund was established for SCCALS with the annual proceeds from this event and other donations.
As SCCALS was about to celebrate its 5th year of operations and 10,000th call, the Board began to explore how the Corporation could further grow in the changing EMS environment. A growing demand for routine ambulance transport services as well as decreasing volunteer staffing during weekday hours presented a challenge to SCCALS.
In 1988, SCCALS initiated a BLS transport service to provide routine ambulance transportation for patients from SCCMC. At the same time, SCCALS began staffing a weekly supplemental BLS ambulance AMBULANCE 94-2 to cover for the local volunteer services that were experiencing manpower shortages.
Given the expanded scope for SCCALS, the Board decided that the Corporate name did not adequately express the services that were being provided. In 1989, the Corporate name was changed to Southern Chester County Emergency Medical Services, Inc.
The period from 1988 to 1993 were years of growth for SCCEMS. In 1992, Mr. Jim Goss departed as Director of SCCEMS and was replaced by Mr. Ray Krett RN as Director of EMS. In that same year, MEDIC 94 experienced a major overhaul and modernization of all of its patient care equipment as well as expanded pediatric training of the ALS staff. While call volumes were increasing, there were continuing financial pressures to obtain the necessary operating revenues to continue operation. After lengthy examination of services, SCCEMS discontinued the daytime supplemental BLS ambulance service. SCCEMS continued to operate the BLS routine ambulance service with expanded hours.
In 1994, SCCEMS began two major projects, which would represent a major change in both the BLS and ALS systems in Chester County. The local volunteer ambulance services continued to have daytime manpower shortages. With the daytime supplemental unit no longer operating, the SCCEMS BoD worked to find a cooperative solution. The solution found would be contracted SCCEMS EMT’s being stationed at local BLS services to assure response. West Grove Fire Company began this program with two SCCEMS EMT’s on weekdays in 1994. Avondale Ambulance would follow with 6 months with one EMT assigned at their station on weekdays.
The second major program that SCCEMS embarked on was an improvement of ALS services to the eastern part of southern Chester County. Response times during the first 10 years of service to the Kennett/ Unionville/ Longwood area were unacceptably long. Additional research was also conducted by SCCEMS regarding crew composition. It was determined that the most appropriate and economical solution was to station another ALS unit with a single ALS provider and an EMT partner in the Longwood/ Kennett/ Unionville area. After lengthy discussion with the area services, the Longwood Fire Station was determined to be the most appropriate site for this new unit.
On December 4th, 1995 MEDIC 94-3 began service at the Longwood Fire Station. This event also coincided with the initiation of BLS ambulance service by the Longwood Fire Company with daytime staffing provided by SCCEMS EMT’s. Longwood Fire Company also was voted in as a member of the SCCEMS Board of Directors. ALS response times to that area immediately decreased by over 50% in some cases.
The following year, 1996 marked a year of expansion of the ambulance transport service provided by SCCEMS. Increased demands were being placed on SCCMC for transfer of critical care patients as well as after hour transfers. As a result, the transport truck was upgraded to a Mobile Intensive Care Unit (MICU) and staffed on weekdays with a paramedic and an EMT. An on call system was implemented to cover after hour transports. In 1996, the Union of Oxford Ambulance entered into a contract with SCCEMS to provide weekday EMT staffing. The challenge was met on both a financial and operational level. SCCEMS entered into an agreement with the Longwood Fire Company to staff MICU 25. This joint venture assured coverage and split costs and responsibilities for the former MEDIC 94-3.
By the end of that year, the Avondale Ambulance Association and SCCEMS also initiated operation of a joint unit, MICU 23. MEDIC 94 became a single ALS provider unit at the Southern Chester County Medical Center.
In October 1999, the Southern Chester County EMS Board of Directors voted to become a subsidiary Corporation of the Southern Chester County Medical Center. This corporate restructuring was fundamental in continuing the development of SCCEMS as a community focused organization. When the Southern Chester County Medical Center was purchased by Community Health Services (CHS) in October 2001 and became the investor owned Jennersville Regional Hospital, SCCEMS formally separated form the hospital to become and independent EMS organization.
Since becoming an independent EMS organization, SCCEMS has focused on obtaining the necessary funding to provide advanced life support operations. SCCEMS initiated an annual fund drive in 2001 soliciting donations from the over 22,000 household and businesses in our service area. SCCEMS the next year initiated an annual municipal request for funding from the 18 municipalities that we serve. This annual request of .1 mil of assessed valued currently has 100% participation from our municipalities.