New ambulances have GPS technology
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This can sometimes be difficult, particularly if roads and houses are poorly marked. But that?s where technology steps in.
Warren County has added some sophisticated systems to its emergency vehicles, thanks to a Homeland Security grant that provides funds to improve emergency equipment. The county also received a nearly quarter-million dollar Community Development Block Grant to purchase two new ambulances, all obtained through the auspices of the Upper Cumberland Development District.
As a result of technology obtained through the Homeland Security grant, local ambulance drivers will soon be able to find your home easily, and cut down on response time, when you make a call to 911.
The Warren County Emergency Medical Service (EMS) now has two new ambulances equipped with a global positioning satellite (GPS) guidance system. The ambulances are fitted with laptop computers which have an overhead photographic map of Warren County installed.
The computers can run software that shows the actual position of the ambulance on the map. All ambulance personnel have to do is enter the physical address of the 911 caller and their location will begin to blink on the computer, showing drivers the quickest route to the emergency.
All of this may seem a little James Bond to some, but the idea is to cut response times, which proponents say will benefit everyone in Warren County.
?It?s state of the art,? said UCDD?s Polly Donoho, ?and we?re so proud to have had a role in helping Warren County get this equipment. This will help save a lot of citizen?s lives.?
The two new ambulances cost a total of $283,948, with $238,516 coming from CDBG funds and $45,432 in matching funds from the county. County Executive Kenneth Rogers said the grant is a real boon for the county.
?It?s let us buy two ambulances for $5,000 less than what it would have cost us to upgrade one of our existing ambulances,? Rogers said. ?It would have cost us $50,000 just to upgrade one of our old ones.?
The vehicles, manufactured by Taylor Made on Ford chassis, have some other advantages over the county?s older units, according to paramedic Brian Jennings.
?The first thing is the size,? Jennings said. ?The room to operate in the back.?
The units are around 10 inches wider overall and with a center-mounted stretcher this allows EMS personnel to work from both sides of the patient.
?The lighting is a lot better,? Jennings said. ?The room to store everything, all the cabinets. It?s a far better system. And now that we?ve got the GPS mapping system, that?s going to be a plus as well.?
Jennings says the mapping system will make a big difference in overcoming problems that have plagued them in the past, like roads left unmarked due to the theft of signs.
?The big thing now is road signs,? Jennings said, ?and houses not being properly marked. The GPS is going to allow us to drive to that house without any other types of signs or directions. All we need is a physical address and we?ll be able to find it. Cutting down response times, that?s the ultimate goal.?
But Jennings emphasized that road signs are still vitally important since not all county first-responders and emergency vehicles will have the GPS equipment.
?Leave those road signs in place,? Jennings said. ?We still need them.?