Navicent Health celebrates National Emergency Medical Services Week

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – It’s National Emergency Medical Services week, and Navicent Health took time Thursday afternoon to hold a good old fashioned cookout to celebrate first responders.

“We do a lot of hard work on a daily basis,” Jason Brady, the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Director of Operations said. “We respond to over 40,000 calls a year, we operate in four counties that covers about 1200 hundred square miles.”

“So it’s extremely important to me that we were able to all come together, break bread, and kind of just relax and let our hair down,” Brady said.

The Navicent Health EMS operates 27 ambulances, three pediatric critical care ambulances, and a bicycle team for special events.

Dr. Allen Stokes, the Director of Navicent Health’s EMS System, knows the importance of having such a system in place and running smoothly, “The impact EMS has in the community is really immeasurable, providing timely medical care from the site of the illness or injury all the way to the hospital.”

“The EMS service and EMS providers all have a true and genuine heart to do what they do,” Dr. Stokes continued. “The reason why they got into this field is not because they are often recognized as heroes in the community, but often do it very silently and make a huge impact just because they have the care and compassion for their fellow individuals.”

An EMS system consists of emergency physicians, nurses, emergency medical technicians (EMTs), and paramedics all the way to key educators and administrators.

National EMS Week lasts from May 20th until the 26th.