Emergency Medical Service (EMS)

Welcome to the Eureka County Emergency Medical Service website!

We are organized into two volunteer ambulance services;

The Eureka Volunteer Ambulance Service serves Eureka town, Diamond Valley and responds North on State Route 278 to about mm 50, West on US Highway 50 to the Simpson Park range, East on US Highway 50 into White Pine County including State Route 892 in Newark Valley and up to the Bald Mountain Mine in White Pine County and down the Duckwater and Fish Creek roads to Nye County. We also respond into White Pine, Elko, Nye and Lander County's as requested.

The Crescent Valley Volunteer Ambulance Service serves Crescent Valley town, the Crescent Valley area and Beowawe including the Whirlwind Valley, Pioneer, Dunphy and I-80. We routinely respond into Lander County including; the Cortez mine, Carico Lake, Grass Valley, the Whirlwind Valley Geothermal Plant and surrounding area.
In Eureka we have volunteer Advanced EMT's and Basic EMT's basics active, we also have several individuals on the service that are drivers only. We also have two full time Intermediate EMT's who supplement the volunteers.

In Crescent Valley we have volunteer Advanced EMT's and Basic EMT's basics active, we also have several individuals on the service that are drivers only. We also have two full time Intermediate EMT's who supplement the volunteers who are invaluable in maintaining the service there.

Eureka County has a volunteer physician medical director who provides quality improvement and written medical direction for the services, each EMT works under the medical director's license.
The Emergency Medical Service provides much more than just a ride to the hospital. Patients are transported to one of three hospitals, depending on several factors including where they want to go, where they are and what is wrong with them. Patients are transferred to Air or Ground Advanced Life Support EMS only when their condition warrants it or when the patient requests it.

Emergency Medical Technicians receive about 130 hours of initial training in: well-being of an EMT, Medical/Legal Ethical issues, basic anatomy and physiology, taking vital signs and history, lifting and moving patients, airway management, scene size up, initial assessment, focused history & physical exam trauma and medical, detailed physical exam, Communications, Documentation and report writing, general pharmacology, diabetes/altered mental status and stroke, allergies, poisonings/overdose, environmental and behavioral emergencies, respiratory and cardiovascular emergencies, Obstetrics, trauma, shock, soft tissue injuries, injuries to the chest, abdomen and musculoskeletal system. Head and spine injuries pediatric and geriatric special needs, infants and children's emergencies, Ambulance operations, triage, terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. They also are certified in CPR.

The student then takes the National Registry of EMTs examination in two parts, a practical examination that proves they can apply what they learned in class on the street and a Computer Adaptive test to check their academic knowledge. Many EMT's say this is the hardest test they have ever taken. Once they pass the student is eligible for Nevada Certification and if they pass the background check, obtain a Nevada ambulance attendant's license, this permits them to run on the ambulance.

Each EMT must attend at least 30 hours of continuing education every two years to maintain their certificate. Eureka County provides at no charge about twice that for the volunteers. Training is monthly in both Eureka and Crescent Valley. Volunteers are provided with uniforms, if they want them. We pay for all training, certification and licensing fees. We also offer a per run stipend to mitigate costs to the volunteers.
Eureka County has 5 ambulances, 3 in Eureka and 2 in Crescent Valley. We also have a non-transport squad vehicle and an off-road rescue vehicle to allow us to safely reach and bring to the ambulance patients who would otherwise be inaccessible or have to be removed by improvised means. The Nevada State Health Division has staged a mass casualty trailer in Eureka capable of treating nearly 500 patients.
We are equipped with the best equipment available in order to provide the best care possible for our patients. These include devises called AEDs which can correct a lethal heart rhythm called ventricular fibrillation, automated vital sign monitors and laptop computers to document the calls. Each ambulance also has an 800 MHz radio to communicate directly with the hospitals and cellular telephones for back up.
Eureka County also has a robust Public Access Defibulator program. Just about every public building the county has an AED. Thanks to Mount Wheeler Power, the Eureka County School District has several AEDs in the schools, administration building, football field and the sports travel buses. They are also provided to the fire departments and some Sheriff's units. Many citizens and volunteers have been trained in CPR.

Even with all this, we need your help. All this equipment is nothing without the dedicated volunteers of this community. Without the volunteers the ambulances don't move, the patients don't get treatment, people suffer. Please, if you cannot volunteer yourself (and I really would like you to) please encourage your employees, your friends and relatives to volunteer, we cannot do it without you.