Brittany Kelley
KYLE — Hays County Emergency Services District (ESD) No. 9 began conducting emergency services in house April 1.
The entity has been in service since 2015 and serves the southeastern portion of Hays County, including Kyle, Uhland, Mountain City and more. According to Chief Brandon Hill, ESD No. 9 has historically contracted out its emergency services from San Marcos Hays County EMS. The latter organization actually served most of the county, except Wimberley, continued Hill, but over the years, other agencies have begun providing their own services in house. So, after discussions, ESD No. 9 did, too.
“Bringing [the services] in house, we have a lot more control over the finances and the level of medicine that we’re providing [and] all of the things that we really didn’t have a lot of control over before with the contracted provider,” said Hill.
Additionally, the tax money received from the state is now going back into ESD No. 9 by purchasing ambulances, creating assets for the organization, said Hill.
The change has also required the hiring of several staff members, including Hill himself, a district administrator, an administrative assistant, emergency medical technicians and paramedics. The staff is already certified, so there was no official training required, he explained, but they have been working to adhere to ESD No. 9’s system.
One unique aspect of the district is that it has partnered with We Are Blood to carry whole blood on the ambulance.
“It is a national initiative to give pre-hospital whole blood, to start administering blood in the field. It increases life saving measures by 22%. So, with significant trauma patients — severe hemorrhage of medical patients, [gastrointestinal] bleeds and things like that — that somebody is going into shock, we’re able to start that administration of blood in the field, rather than waiting to get to the hospital. The earlier that we can get that intervention on board, the better the chance of survival for that patient,” said Hill, adding that ESD No. 9 is the second in the county and third in the region to carry whole blood.
The chief shared that staff is working to be at the forefront of technology, as well, since they purchased newer models of cardiac monitors.
Although ESD No. 9 is now providing the services, Hill stated that there should be no large changes that the community experiences. If anything, he said, they hope to reduce response time.
The change will occur over the next four months, with a truck coming online at each fire station in the service area; the first, located at 210 W. Moore St., began responding to calls April 1.
“We’re looking forward to serving the community and we’re looking forward to building relationships with all of the community partners … I’m hoping that we’re able to provide an undeniable service and experience for them. I know we’re visiting people on the worst day of their lives, so we want to make sure that we’re trying to make them feel the best they can,” said Hill.
In an effort to push this connection, Hill stated that they created a Community Connect Portal that allows residents to input any necessary information critical for first responders, such as: garage, gate and door codes; special needs, like a home ventilator; and more. Residents can find the portal at bit.ly/4tGdt1n.
