Metro Paramedics Receives Best Innovation Award
Metro Paramedics and the Elmhurst Fire Department were recently awarded the DuPage Mayors and Managers Conference’s “Best Innovation” award for Rescue 1, their ALS Rapid Response Vehicle. Rescue 1 receive the most votes and beat out six other municipalities that were up for the award.
Rescue 1 is housed in a 2017 Ford Explorer, and Elmhurst Fire Department paramedics staff the Rapid Response Vehicle around the clock. The vehicle is enhancing the existing ALS service, which is provided with a paramedic transport (Medic 1 and Medic 2). All of the equipment, including a cardiac monitor/defibrillator, ALS medications, and a Zoll AutoPulse, fits in the back of the vehicle. The vehicle is also able to navigate through traffic better than a traditional response vehicle.
“We are on the cutting edge here in Elmhurst, providing paramedics and an advanced support Rapid Response Vehicle,” Fire Chief Thomas Freeman said. “We are very proud to be recognized as innovators for this service to our community.”
Elmhurst Fire Department is one of the first departments in the county to use this new service model. When a paramedic is in the Rapid Response Vehicle and is cleared from a medical situation and is not needed to go to the hospital, the paramedic will be available to go on another call.
