By Martine Wolfe-Miller, PIO

MOUNT PLEASANT, SC (February 16, 2010) – Mount Pleasant Fire Department Lt. Ronnie DuBose and Engineer Paul Ceglia have put their paramedic skills to good use and placed second in the Lowcountry Regional Emergency Medical Services Competition held on Feb. 6 at the Lowcountry Regional EMS Office, North Charleston.

“I would like to congratulate both paramedics DuBose and Ceglia for placing second during their first EMS competition” said Fire Chief Herb Williams. “Mount Pleasant was the only fire department competing against 12 counties and dozens of EMS-certified personnel and we are pleased with the outcome of the competition.”

“Both paramedics DuBose and Ceglia invested more than 40 hours each preparing for the competition. The testing was very contained and closed to the public. The scenario involved a female who had fallen into a 5-ft. deep pit and had sustained significant injuries to her neck and back. With the use of a mannequin, DuBose and Ceglia demonstrated task-specific skills and rendered prompt and efficient medical assistance, including IV administration. We are very encouraged by their performance and we hope to send three additional teams next year to the annual competition,” added Medical Training Officer Cpt. Rob Wronski.

Charleston County EMS came in first, followed in second place by the Town of Mount Pleasant Fire Department, and in third place by Dorchester EMS.

About the Mount Pleasant Fire Department Paramedic Program
Mount Pleasant Town Council, responding to new trends in South Carolina, implemented the Paramedic Program in 2007 to enable Mount Pleasant firefighters to provide life-saving advanced care to an increasingly aging population.

“More than 62 percent of emergency calls are medical in nature,” said Fire Chief Herb Williams. “As our population ages, we are seeing more medical emergency calls. Town Council is planning for the future of our fire service – and that includes paramedics on trucks. While other fire departments have their paramedics ride along with ambulances, we saw a clear and present need to place our paramedics on our fire trucks for greater efficiency. We almost always arrive at the scene before the Charleston County EMS ambulance and can offer life-saving critical care immediately. Mount Pleasant became the first municipality in South Carolina to have paramedics on their fire engines. Since the program’s inception, we have responded to 1,086 Advanced Life Support (ALS) calls requiring a paramedic at the scene.”

About the Lowcountry Regional Emergency Medical Services Council
The Lowcountry Regional Emergency Medical Services Council is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization serving the 12 counties in the Lowcountry Region by providing training, consulting, and technical assistance to emergency services agencies and other allied health agencies and personnel. It is the express purpose of the EMS Council to assist in the development of emergency health care systems within EMS Region IV of South Carolina, and to increase the accessibility and continuity of the overall quality of health care in the Lowcountry Region of South Carolina.
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