Knightdale, Wendell, Zebulon EMS Merge to Form Eastern Wake EMS


5/24/2005

Quality EMS service raised to the power of three. Knightdale, Wendell and Zebulon EMS (emergency medical services) have merged to form Eastern Wake EMS.

The name Eastern Wake EMS was chosen by a vote of each agency's membership. Wendell EMS, formulated as the first EMS agency in Wake County in 1962, was chosen to be the surviving agency and will house the administrative offices for Eastern Wake EMS. Wendell EMS officially became Eastern Wake EMS on May 1, and Knightdale and Zebulon will fold into the new agency July 1.

"As eastern Wake County experiences the explosive growth that has been occurring in other areas of the County, it is critical we meet the demands of that growth with services that are cost-effective and efficient," said Wake County Commissioners' Chair Joe Bryan, a resident and former mayor of Knightdale. "In terms of public safety for our citizens in Eastern Wake, this merger makes sense."

It's been said a threefold cord is not quickly broken, and the three departments started talking about merging into one agency in 2004-05. After numerous meetings with the three Boards, each agency voted to move forward with the merger, which is designed to accomplish these goals:

  • Continue providing high quality patient care to the citizens of our community.
  • With no territorial lines, reallocate current resources to improve response times on the eastern side of the County.
  • Provide service in the most cost-effective and -efficient way as possible.
  • Provide a career ladder and better benefit package for the agency's employees.
  • Ensure EMS service on the eastern side of the County remains community-based.
  • Improve recruitment and retention of employees and volunteers.
  • Promote a close-knit family oriented organization.
  • Develop an Honor Guard that would represent the new organization and provide them a dress uniform.
  • Provide an additional paramedic resource as supervisor for the EMS System.

"We took an EMS System approach instead of a territorial approach as we made these decisions," said Garland Tant, Zebulon EMS Chief and President of the Rescue Chiefs Association. "The members and the administrative staff are excited about the future of the new Eastern Wake EMS."

Garland Tant and the Wendell EMS Chief Eddie Ross will be co-administrators of Eastern Wake EMS, and interviews are under way to hire supervisors for the new system.



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