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In 1973, the Lewisville Fire Department first began its EMS program with one ambulance staffed with Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT’s). In 1975, the need for an additional ambulance was recognized, this allowed for coverage on either side of Interstate 35. In May 1983, three firefighters graduated from Southwest Medical School’s Paramedic Program in Dallas, to become the first paramedics in the department and in May 1983, the first ALS ambulance was placed in service.
Twenty one years later, in 2004, the Lewisville Fire Department has four Type 1 Wheeled Coach Ambulances on a F450 Super Duty Chassis and one 2 ton Wheeled Coach Ambulance housed out of three fire houses. We respond to over 5600 EMS calls each year. Each ambulance carries the Texas Department of Health certification as Mobile Intensive Care Unit (MICU).
Fire house 1 has two MICU ambulances, one is a staffed front line unit and the other is not staffed on a daily basis, but can be manned quickly in critical situations. Fire house 2 has one staffed MICU on a daily basis. Fire house 3 has one staffed MICU and a non staffed reserve MICU.
The fire department employs 27 Basic EMT’s, 47 Certified Paramedics and 25 Licensed Paramedics. Each shift currently has 16 paramedics assigned to ambulance rotations for all three staffed MICU’s. Each Engine (4), Quint (2), and Truck (1) in our City is also advanced life support (ALS) equipped with an LP 12 monitor/defibrillator and ALS drugs and supplies. All fire personnel are trained in the use of Automatic External Defibrillators (AED). We currently have one dedicated Paramedic Engine located at Fire house 6, our newest station. It is staffed with paramedics at all times. The remaining paramedics on each shift are assigned to other apparatus in the City. We have budgeted for future staffing to allow each apparatus in the City to be staffed with one or two paramedics each shift. We have also budgeted to increase the number of medics assigned to the ambulances to allow each medic approximately 40% rotation time on the medic unit.
In 2001, the EMS division implemented the EMS Pro field data collection software. This software enables us to easily and comprehensively document incidents using pen-based portable computers in the field. This software:
§ Eliminates the hassles of manual paperwork
§ Cuts the amount of time collecting data
§ Ensures improvement of service quality through in-depth QA reports
§ Automates electronic reporting to government agencies
§ Reduces exposure to liability with complete, legible, and accurate patient care reports
§ Improves cash flow by capturing billing information at the point of care
§ Allows a legible patient report to be left at the receiving hospital at the time of patient delivery
In September 2002, the EMS division took over the ambulance billing responsibilities for the City of Lewisville. With the implementation of the Sanitas software package in 2003, claims are processed quicker and with fewer errors. The software automates billing and insurance submission by monitoring claims for errors, which speeds up the receivables turnaround time. Sanitas operates seamlessly with the EMS Pro field software package. The information collected by the paramedics in the field is available to the billing clerk, eliminating time consuming data entry. This has allowed us to increase revenue for the billing department when compared to previous years. With these software packages, the City of Lewisville is able to recoup a portion of the cost of providing a state of the art ambulance division.
The demands upon the EMS division continue to increase in many areas. Continuing Education (CE) is one of these areas. The State of Texas requires that each medic have 36 hours per year of CE. Each medic is also required to hold other certifications such as CPR, Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), Pediatric Education for Pre-hospital Providers (PEPP), and Basic Trauma Life Support (BTLS). The Lewisville Fire Department contracts with the Medical Center of Lewisville for medical control, CE as well as other educational opportunities. Emergency medical service skills are maintained by regularly scheduled training curriculums coordinated by Medical Center of Lewisville Medical Control.
Over the years, the City of Lewisville Fire and EMS divisions have acquired one of the best reputations in the surrounding area.
