Rappahannock County officials continue to look at ways to play a bigger role in the community’s emergency services without threatening the independence of local volunteer fire and rescue companies.
WHY IT MATTERS
For years now, the aging of Rappahannock’s population — including its emergency services volunteers — has been a growing concern. It has placed an increasingly heavy burden on the relatively small number of volunteers who regularly answer calls.
The county’s response has been to shape a hybrid operation of volunteers and part-time, paid emergency medical technicians (EMTs). Most of the latter are involved through operating a “chase vehicle” that provides Advanced Life Support coverage on calls. Others supplement volunteers at the Sperryville and Chester Gap companies.
But pushback has come from some volunteer company officers who worry that relying more on paid EMTs could diminish the role and motivation of volunteers, and eventually weaken their companies’ personal connections to the communities they serve.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Efforts to recruit and train new volunteers — particularly younger ones — remain a key priority. A promising sign is that 23 students at Rappahannock County High School have signed up for an Emergency Medical Responder certification course taught this semester by Kat Waters, the county’s recruitment and retention coordinator.
According to Waters, about 60 new volunteers have been added to the system over the past year or so, including 44 who have joined the Flint Hill company since the county replaced its previous officers, a matter still tangled in the courts.
The county has contributed to the purchase of new LIFEPAK 35 defibrillators for volunteer companies in Chester Gap, Sperryville, Flint Hill and Castleton. It also has offered to aid volunteer companies by coordinating schedules to fill coverage gaps and reduce redundancy, and providing help in meeting regulations for management of drugs.
In February, American Heart Month, the county will begin installing at different public locations some of the 30 automated external defibrillators (AEDs) it purchased. It’s an initiative spearheaded by Hampton District Supervisor Keir Whitson, who almost died of a heart attack in 2022.
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