Murphy – About 45 local residents celebrated the opening of the new Cherokee County Emergency Medical Services Station with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Dec. 20.
The new EMS Station 1 at 475 Peachtree St. is clearly visible from the roadway as well as the intersection of U.S. 19/64/74/129. Quicker access to the four-lane highway will assist in expediting patient care.
The location will allow for a quicker response time than the previous building’s location downtown, behind King’s Pharmacy, as emergency responders will no longer have to work their way to the roadway from back streets and around drivers and pedestrians.
The project started in 2020, but was delayed due to COVID and building supply issues. The $2.4 million state-of-the-art facility has been operational since Nov. 30 with a full kitchen, an office for filling out patient care reports, a captain’s office, clean and updated bathrooms and showers, a laundry room as well as six individual sleeping quarters, which are shared by the medical personnel on shift.
Personnel sharing rooms pool their money to purchase items like televisions and other desired furnishings that were not already provided for them. Each of the sleeping quarters comes with a bed, mattress, locker and window blinds.
Station 1 is manned 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with a captain and four medical personnel. The truck bay is spacious, housing emergency vehicles as well as equipment. Tours were being offered before and after the ceremony, which was open to the public.
Jacob Mathis is a paramedic who has been responding from the new Station 1.
“This is better for everything. It’s easier to get the trucks in and out and we don’t have to go down two separate alleys. There’s so much more space to park the trucks and the living arrangements are so much better. It’s also much easier to rest here and it’s more sanitary than where we were before,” he said.
“It makes me more proud to work for this county. It’s a more professional look, and it helps with job satisfaction.”
Max Norton of Cherokee County, a former firefighter, added, “This is a great facility, and it’s very important that they have a place like this.”
Robin Caldwell, director of Cherokee County Emergency Management, thanked the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners for providing the new facility.
“This new EMS station holds extreme promise to the dedicated EMS professionals who work tirelessly, day and night, to ensure the health and safety of our citizens,” she said. “It is more than just a logistical upgrade; it’s an important step toward enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of our EMS system.”
Commissioner Randy Phillips called the new EMS building a gift.
“Christmas has come early for Cherokee County,” he said.