Emergency
Medical
Services
(EMS)
The Cheltenham Township Emergency Medical Service (EMS) started small. “We borrowed a Chevy Suburban from the police and placed magnetic signs that said ‘Emergency Medical Service’ over the word ‘Police’,” explains Ken Hellendall, EMS director. “This worked fine until the signs blew off.”
In 2002, the decidedly higher-tech EMS celebrates its 20th anniversary. From its modest beginnings as a part-time adjunct to the Police Department, EMS has blossomed into the sixth busiest ambulance service in the county.
Established by the Board of Commissioners in 1982 to provide the community with an organization dedicated solely to medical emergencies, EMS held its first meeting in February 1983. Weekend operations began soon after. For the first few years, police officers continued to cover medical emergencies whenever EMS was off duty. During that first year, 29 EMS volunteers equipped with a first-aid kit, a shared police vehicle and a walkie-talkie that plugged into a car cigarette lighter handled 254 calls.
In contrast, EMS was dispatched to 3,041 calls in 2001. Today an independent department of the Township, EMS has volunteer and career paramedics and emergency medical technicians (EMTs), qualified to provide advanced life care. The service boasts three ambulances and a paramedic responder unit filled with life-saving equipment and radios that can communicate with any ambulance, police vehicle or hospital in the county.
“We constantly update our equipment and expand our training to provide the best patient care possible,” says Hellendall. “To this end, we instituted a bicycle patrol several years ago — the first in the county — and we’ve created a medics on motorcycles program, only the second one in the state.”
The program gives EMS quick access to patients, despite traffic congestion or roadwork closings. The motorcycle carries all the necessary equipment to begin care until an ambulance arrives. Three paramedics and an EMT will be trained to use the motorcycle during the first year.
Your Support
Residents help EMS maintain its high quality care through an annual support program. For fees ranging from $15 to $35, participants help EMS continue to acquire advanced medical equipment and in return avoid charges for any EMS service that year. However, EMS will bill Medicare or insurance companies, if available. EMS does not provide routine medical transportation.
Finally, EMS always welcomes new volunteers. “Volunteers were the backbone of EMS in the beginning, and they continue to be vital to our operation,” says Hellendall. Paramedics and EMTs are particularly welcome, but training can be provided. Volunteers should have CPR and first-aid certification before applying. Teens ages 16 to 18 with parental consent and working papers are also welcome. All volunteers should expect to work about 20 hours per month. Anyone interested in joining EMS should contact Ken Hellendall at 215-887-6200, ext. 510.