Union EMS was founded in 1985 as a division of Union County Government. The agency was formed under Director David Caviness, who left his
post as Director of Wilkes County EMS to help start the Union County EMS agency. Prior to Union County EMS’s formation, Monroe City public safety, and several county volunteer fire departments operated independent ambulances, with U-Meck rescue squad serving the north-west portion of the county.
Union EMS’s first headquarters was in the former nurse’s building on the campus of Union Memorial Hospital. Twenty-four full-time employees operated three shifts with three BLS ambulances. While intended to be a temporary facility, this building served as EMS headquarters for over fifteen
years.
The first call for service received by EMS was a non-emergent interfacility transport from Union Memorial Hospital to a facility in Charlotte. The second call for service resulted in the ambulance breaking down enroute to the call.
The salary for a full time EMT in 1985 was $8,710.00 and the Director’s salary was $26,500.00.
The first few months of service saw most EMTs carrying their own personal BLS bags to respond to calls for service.
Union EMS upgraded to EMT-Intermediate level service in March 1986, with no standing orders. All Interventions required online medical
control authorization. The agency upgraded to EMT-Advanced Intermediate in August 1986 after 22 employees completed five months of training, and eighty hours of clinicals. EMT-AIs went almost immediately to inter paramedic training, and the agency transitioned to paramedic coverage in May 1987.
March of 1986 saw the addition of three satellite bases operating out of Beaver Lane Fire Department, Bakers Fire Department, and
Waxhaw Fire Department.
Within the first twelve months, Union County responded to approximately 3,000 calls for service.
Transitioning into the early 1990s, Union County EMS added bases in Stallings, and Unionville, and closed the base at Bakers Fire Department. The creation of additional bases saw the close of U-Meck rescue squad.
In 1995, Union County had added Quick response vehicles in rural districts, and staffing had grown to 56 full time, and 24 part-time
employees.
In 1996, Union County implemented the enhanced 911 telephone system, allowing citizens to register personal medical information that would
also appear to dispatchers.
1996 saw Union County Government turn over control of the local EMS system to the hospital system. In a 3 to 2 split vote, Union Regional
Medical Center (Formerly Union Memorial Hospital) took over responsibility for EMS and the management of employees. During the changeover, Director Flora Gail Lowery resigned her post as head of EMS. At the time Carolinas Healthcare and Union Memorial Hospital took over
EMS, the agency had grown to 104 employees, operating 15 vehicles per shift.
In 1997, Scott Shew was appointed EMS Director and oversaw the remaining aspects of transfer from County to hospital-based EMS.
By 1999, Union EMS responded to 9,488 calls resulting in 6,684 transports.
2000 saw EMS headquarters move into a permanent building, as headquarters was moved from the old nurse’s building.
The mid-2000s saw EMS expand care into specialized teams like SRT, to provide Union County Sheriff’s Office with Paramedics who were
provided additional training.
In 2005, Union EMS introduced a new set of protocols, and Dr. Chris Rosanova replaced our original Medical Director, Dr. John Cattie. Paper patient care reports were replaced with computers for documentation, and twelve lead capable monitors replaced the manual defibrillation/three-lead
capable previous versions.
In 2014, hospital and county officials modified the deployment plan for ambulances, moving to a modified dynamic deployment plan. Crews began deploying into the field and rotating posting locations around the county. Satellite EMS bases were closed, and all field operations were moved to the central headquarters building operating out of the hospital, now known as Atrium-Union.
For nearly a decade, Union EMS operated a similar plan, with ambulances moving to strategic sites around the county to respond to calls for service. In early 2024, Union County leaders moved to replace the dynamic deployment model with a hybrid system to reduce the significant wear and tear seen on vehicles and improve working conditions for teammates. David Hyatt assumed the role of EMS Chief at that time. Under the proposed hybrid model, a return of static satellite bases will support several trucks deployed to strategic locations in the field.
Reference: Andrew Benton (2024)