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Efforts being made to provide adequate ambulance service Washington County leaders and volunteer members of the McIntosh Rescue Squad have legitimate concerns about providing adequate emergency medical services when the expected influx of thousands of construction workers hits the south Washington, north Mobile counties area this fall. At least 27,000 workers are expected to converge on the community of Calvert when construction begins on the new ThyssenKrupp steel plant. Monday, Washington County Probate Judge Charles Singleton said he and members of the county commission are looking at ways to address the needs of those locating to the area to fill the thousands of jobs that will be created during the construction phase. "This will be like nothing Washington County has ever seen before," he said. "We will need to look at increasing our fire protection in the area as well as emergency medical services." The option of establishing a medical clinic in the south end of the county is being seriously considered. With that will come the need for an increased ability to provide adequate ambulance service. Currently the main provider of emergency medical services in the McIntosh to Mt. Vernon region is the all-volunteer McIntosh Rescue Squad. The squad is entirely staffed by volunteers, most of whom hold regular jobs as emergency medical personnel with paid ambulance services in the area and volunteer during their off time to cover the south end of the county. Candy Davidson, the squad's chief, said she is in the process of setting up a meeting with Mobile County EMS to address the issue. "This is a huge concern to us right now," she said in a telephone interview, Monday. "The closest ambulance post Mobile County has to this area is in Citronelle. With this many people coming in we can't waste any time in addressing this issue." Davidson said she hopes some kind of agreement can be reached with Mobile County EMS that will ultimately lead to an ability to provide the services that will be needed when the workers arrive. In the meantime, she is also asking members of the community who may be interested in joining the squad to do so. "We need those people to step up and become a part of our organization," she added. She said the option of becoming a private, paid service is not currently on the agenda, unless there is a substantial increase in the amount of funding the squad receives from the county's ambulance board. "Only then would we be able to look at such an option," she said.
Another concern Davidson has is the language barrier that may be created by Hispanics who could possibly make up a huge portion of the construction workforce. "We will need to learn to communicate with these people, in order to provide quality care for them," she said. "If you can't understand the patient, it makes it difficult to treat them."
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