Call volume increases, response time drops, EMS director says
As far as Bruce Crowell is concerned, everything’s happening just as planned.
Crowell, medical director for Kirk’s EMS in Lawton and Elgin, said the company’s next move is into Apache which will occur on July 1.
“I don’t see anything different from our end,” he said. “The community support I’m getting is good. They’re happy we’re coming in.”
Kirk’s EMS won the bid to become Apache’s new ambulance service in March. Other bidders were Survival Flight EMS and Apache EMS. The expansion is a natural move after putting an ambulance in Elgin about a year ago.
“We have one truck stationed there 24-7, 365 days a year. The biggest thing is our response time,” Crowell said. “Elgin is a growing community and the hub of northeast Comanche County. We put a truck out there and cut response time. We’re giving citizens a quicker, higher quality service.”
Prior to that, Elgin’s fire department was the first responder on a scene with Kirk’s EMS coming from Lawton.
“We put a truck out there and cut response time 50-70% in time,” Crowell said. “The biggest thing was the response time.”
Kirk’s EMS averaged 8.69 minutes for each of their 5,408 calls from Jan. 1-May 31 of this year. A year ago, the ambulance service responded to 4,370 calls for the same time period.
“That’s across the board for Lawton and Elgin,” Crowell said. “We cut down, on average, a minute from a year ago. We’ve increased volume and reduced response time.”
Kirk’s EMS has six fully staffed ambulances each day – five in Lawton and one in Elgin. Each ambulance is staffed with a licensed paramedic. Each ambulance also has an emergency medical technician or an advanced EMT, Crowell said.
All those positions require continuing training and education, which can be time-consuming. All EMTs, paramedics and the medical director are required to obtain annual or biennial training to update their skills. Some of the training revolves around trauma programs, traffic management, pediatric life support and emergency vehicle operations.
Kirk’s EMS, which was founded in 1972 by the late Kirk Kuykendall and wife Betty, has a staff of 67 people, company public information officer Brian Price said.
“We also have a lot of behind-the-scenes people who make this work,” he said. “It’s like a family now as much as it was in 1972. I think they (the founders) would be proud.”
Some Kuykendall family members still serve on the company’s board of directors and as corporate officers.