By Megan Wehring
WIMBERLEY — Community donations can go a long way. Wimberley Emergency Medical Services (EMS) learned this lesson after a new 8,000 square-foot facility is expected to be completed by Oct.15.
Wimberley EMS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that relies heavily on public support to continue providing essential services. It is an independent service dispatched by the Hays County Sheriff’s Department and works with the Wimberley Volunteer Fire Department and South Hays Fire Department.
Ken Strange, director of Wimberley EMS since 2004, said the new facility comes all because of the generous support of the community.
“The citizens of Wimberley have stepped up to the plate and donated money to us and helped us with donation drives,” Strange said. “We have two groups that are really working hard with us and we were able to raise around the $300,000 mark just for the building.”
Wimberley is growing and the EMS staff wants to meet those new needs. Since 1995, the first-responders have been housed in a metal building that has lacked adequate space. Now, the new building will bring an extra 4,000 square feet of space.
“The new building is really going to serve us well,” said Strange. “It gives us more room for storage and makes it more comfortable for our medics. It makes us much more updated and we actually can move into the 21st century now.”
Not only will the facility bring more space for staff and patient care, there will also be a classroom(s) for CPR and other training sessions. While Wimberley EMS currently does not host any programs for high school students, Strange said he hopes that the new facility will allow them to host future classes for that age group.
“The main thing it has done for us is it’s given us our classroom that we can use for the public and for our medics for all of our training,” Strange said. “I would really love to look into putting an EMT class on in Wimberley and then invite some of those younger people in to just get them interested in EMS.”
While they are challenged with the unbelievable task of maintaining sufficient funding, Strange said they are grateful for the community they serve.
“We would just like to thank our citizens for really supporting us, taking good care of us and allowing us to serve them in this community,” said Strange.
