Residents of Asheville Highway, Newport Highway, and the 107 Cutoff will find emergency response time shortened when the new Emergency Medical Services substation opens on the Takoma Adventist Hospital campus, according to Lindy Riley, director of the Takoma Hospital Foundation.

    “The Foundation will raise $200,000 to pay for the construction and renovation of the substation,” Riley said. “We are thrilled to be part of this project, which will likely save lives.”

   Takoma has donated the land for the new facility to be built on.  A garage for three ambulances will be built behind the existing building where Drs. Frederick Myers and Robert Bridges had their offices. The Bridges/Myers Building also will be renovated to house six Emergency Medical Technicians and their supplies.

    Greene County will provide funds for salaries of the technicians and for the equipment and supplies.

    Currently, the nearest EMS facility is on Depot Street, some two miles farther away for South Greene County residents. “When the new facility is built on the Takoma campus, the Depot Street unit will be closed,” Riley explained.

   EMS provides rapid response to accidents, emergency medical services, emergency hospital transport, disaster response, and disaster planning.  Last year, they responded to some 11,000 calls in Greene County.

    To make a donation to the EMS Substation Project, please call Lindy Riley at 798-8136.

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