Hopkins County EMS will be replacing Medic 7, a 1998 truck, with a new unit following a vote of the Hopkins County Hospital District Board. The hospital district continues ownership of EMS services for Hopkins, Delta, and Franklin Counties. The new unit will cost $168,000.
EMS transports are increasing in the three county area. Currently those numbers are above target numbers expected by EMS personnel. January was the busiest month for calls for EMS. It was noted that EMS drivers are emphasizing the local hospital as a point of destination. It was noted that more Franklin County residents are choosing CHRISTUS Mother Francis over a hospital to the east of the county. Some continue to travel east due to specific physicians they have been using in the past.
Hopkins County EMS is also hitting response times. EMS response times in cities averages eight minutes 59 seconds. Locally those times are being met or exceeded. Rural response times have a standard of 20 minutes 59 seconds but Hopkins County EMS response times are averaging 15 minutes for rural areas. Currently there are 10 EMS workers working 24 hours every day. The shifts rotate every 24 hours.
Transport of prisoners for Texas Department of Criminal Justice and others is also a profitable service for local EMS. Transport of prisoners for TDCJ to their medical facility in Galveston pays $9.75 per mile. Using on-call personnel, the local EMS made 110 trips last year for facilities in Northeast Texas from Bonham to Texarkana. It was noted that a guard is present in the front seat and a guard in the back or a chase unit along with two medical personnel on each trip.
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