Building an Emergency Medical Services Program
We at the Silver Hill Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue Squad are building an EMS Program. If you like working in EMS with a team then you need to come to 3900 Old Silver Hill Road in Suitland Maryland. This program will be none other because those involved will be involved in a Strategic Planning Program that builds a state of the art system.
The Building
Our goal is to build a system similar to the Boston EMS System. We plan to have a separate facility that houses EMS Providers and we need people to help us build that. Through our fundraising capability, we can afford to move EMS operations out of the fire station. While we have plenty of capacity we need visionary personnel who want to build something. We no longer stick EMS in a building designed for firefighters. We want EMS personnel to help design the facility for the future that suits their needs.
The first step in the process is to obtain housing that has as its purpose to have a facility that takes into consideration our member’s health and well being. Members should not be sleeping in a fire station unless they are running calls. By having duty shifts everyone’s well being is protected.
The Units
We don’t want members to come to the station and work in the traditional model and run calls until their brains turn to mush. We are also creating supervisory positions and administrative positions that serve the needs of our members. We are obtaining a state of the art units so our members can be comfortable while providing services. Our cots are motorized to protect the health of our members aimed at ensuring their longevity in the system. We want our members to meet the requirements of LOSAP (retirement program) and having the best equipment to ride on is a must. We have two ambulances and are in the process of purchasing a new one.
The People
The reason we raise funds is to invest in our members. We provide training opportunities, send our members to conferences and other venues to ensure they build their skills to provide the highest quality possible. This is why we are always appealing to those who visit our website to “Join Us’. We know there are only a few stations that can do what we do for our people. Our Live-In program is focused on training and preparing our members for service. Our members will be competing for jobs in the Fire and EMS Services because we invest in them first. This is a covenant relationship with our members. If you serve the public then we will serve you.
Your Time
Because we put our members first we operate in a way that is considerate of your time. We don’t drive our members into the ground. We have shifts designed to meet your needs. We keep the meaning of volunteer simple. Part of volunteering means respecting the voluntary aspect of the system. Because we honor the Length of Service Award Program goals we allow our members to decide if they want to reach the retirement goals as a volunteer. By fulfilling the time requirements you can earn a retirement but if you don’t want to focus on our retirement program that is a choice you can make.
Come to our drill night on Mondays at 7 pm and learn how to become a part of our EMS Strategic Planning Process. Bring your skills to 3900 Old Silver Hill Road in Suitland and Join Us!