Life-saving services will soon get to people quicker in Cabarrus County

CABARRUS COUNTY, N.C. — After a move from Cabarrus County commissioners, life-saving services will quickly get to people faster.

They just voted to give millions in new funding for EMS, which will help shorten response times.

Most Cabarrus County EMS calls tend to be in the densely populated area, such as along the Highway 29 corridor.

However, paramedics must also be able to reach more rural areas, such as the northeast part of the county where it can take longer to get to.

Development in downtown Concord is one of the most glaring examples of Cabarrus County’s growth.

“It’s been a little challenging with all the construction,” said Emily Cordero, the owner of Press and Porter.

Business owners have dealt with the growing pains.

Cabarrus County EMS is also navigating the impacts of the exponential growth.

“We have seen call-average-response time countywide creep to just above eight minutes, like 8.2,” said Chief Tommy Lentz, Cabarrus County EMS.

The standard for that response time nationally and in Cabarrus County is 8 minutes, Lentz said.

Cabarrus County commissioners recently approved a budget of nearly $19 million for EMS, which will help the agency provide 24-hour coverage, improve response times, and reduce the need for standby coverage.

EMS plans to hire eight paramedics and add a 14th ambulance to its fleet.

Cabarrus County has a multi-room simulation training center.

The center includes an immersive room with floor-to-ceiling interactive video walls, which project any type of training scenario.

“(We) put people on a scene, have a wreck scene projected around them,” Lentz said. “We can introduce scents to this room to make it realistic, be it burning rubber, be it the smell of whatever we wanted to do.”

They plan to hire a simulation specialist funded through the budget to help create the state’s first certified training center housed inside an EMS agency, he said.

That would likely give comfort to people who work and live in the county.

“The growth we’ve seen in the past two years has been absolutely astronomical, which is great for business,” Cordero said. “It’s a little concerning as far as schools, and obviously traffic, and just density altogether.”

Of the 175 staff, 173 must be certified, which explains the need for an on-site top-level EMS training center.

Cabarrus County EMS already has those positions for master and junior paramedics posted.

They hope to have that simulation specialist hired by September.

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