WATAGUA COUNTY, N.C.,None — For Watauga Medics, nearly every year is busier than the one before.
But last year's increase — a 6.5 percent rise in call volume — was larger than the average jump for the last 20 years.
Commissioners have been reluctant during the poor economy of the last couple of years to provide the significant financial increases that would be necessary to hire another crew of paramedics.
Director Craig Sullivan said that although the brisk pace makes each day go by faster, it's only a matter of time before the needs will overwhelm what current staff can provide.
"If we have another one of those years, we're going to be hurting without additional staffing," Sullivan said.
In 2011, Watauga Medics responded to 4,783 calls, exactly 310 more calls than last year and 3,023 more calls than its predecessor agency did in 1990, according to Sullivan.
The annual call volume has fallen only three times in the last 20 years.
Those calls ranged from stubbed toes and minor illnesses to heart attacks and serious trauma, including 26 instances last year in which patients had to be flown from the site of accidents.
While more than 60 percent of the calls came from within the Boone fire district, Blowing Rock's fire district accounted for 11 percent. Cove Creek and Foscoe were not far behind, each accounting for about 5 percent of calls.
Medics also completed 552 out-of-county transports to other medical centers, each of which commonly takes a crew out of the area for six hours or more, Sullivan said.
But despite the increase in calls, the average response time has held fairly steady during the 12 years Sullivan has sat at the helm of Watauga Medics.
The medics work from two bases: one off Longvue Road in Boone and one between King Street and N.C. 105 Bypass in Boone.
In 2011, the average response time from those bases was 9 minutes, 14 seconds, just seconds off the averages during the last five years.
Sullivan said that increases in call volume within Boone help to offset the lengthier calls to the outer reaches of the county.
While most responses are fairly quick, 112 emergency calls last year took more than 20 minutes to reach.
"It gravely concerns me," Sullivan said. "That's an eternity."
Watauga Medics is required by contract to stay under 10 minutes on average, but Sullivan said nothing happened on the rare occasions that they didn't meet that requirement in the past.
Over the years, proposals have surfaced to locate additional bases in Blowing Rock, where call volume is higher, or western Watauga County where response times are slowest.
"That's just a matter of a stopwatch, how long it takes us to get out there," said paramedic George Durfor.
In February, the Blowing Rock Town Council approved a resolution advocating that a Watauga Medics ambulance and crew be stationed at the Blowing Rock Fire & Rescue station.
Watauga County commissioners reviewed the resolution at their annual retreat last weekend and opted to seek more information from Blowing Rock before considering the matter.
Commissioner Vince Gable suggested at the retreat that Sullivan look for ways to use paramedics associated with the volunteer fire stations to better serve the boundaries of the county.
"A lot of them have got the dedication and would be able to stand by," Gable said.
Watauga Rescue Squad already serves as the primary backup ambulance service for the county.
While the work can be difficult and the need is growing, Watauga Medics will likely be the agency to tackle that challenge in the years to come.
Commissioners and county staff offered words of appreciation to Sullivan at the retreat, and board members directed county staff to negotiate with Watauga Medics on an extension of the contract set to expire in 2014.
"This is one of our successful stories of contracting out," County Manager Deron Geouque said.
WSOC
