Ever wonder how an ambulance finds an address in case of an emergency?

In past years, the EMS driver had to know where the address was or perhaps be guided by a dispatcher over the radio.

Plain Township EMS has stepped in the 21st century with an imaging system that can pinpoint the location of an address, thus providing quicker and potentially better service. The laptop computer with the imaging system will be mounted in the Medic 72 truck the township EMS received last summer.

"It pinpoints (your location), putting a circle around it," said Capt. Dave Rapp. "It's a lot easier to find the house."

The imaging system can provide the EMS with the longitude and latitude of the address, as well as the township. The mapping system can show the address in relationship to the rest of Kosciusko County.

"It's really easy to access," Rapp said. The only limitation to the system, he said, is that they have to pinpoint where an emergency is by the address. "That's about the only limitations we have for it."

The system also can highlight particular roads for the EMS. Or in a trailer park, it will help the EMS pinpoint which trailer they need to go to.

Plain Township received the laptop just a few weeks ago, Rapp said. The actual mapping system the EMS uses has been used in the county for a while by the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department and the Central Dispatch Center. Since the Plain Township EMS received it, Rapp said, they've used it several times.

He said Plain Township EMS updates the mapping system once a month. Plain Township EMS covers Plain Township and part of Prairie Township.

"The equipment we got is up to date," Rapp said. "Without a good township backing like we have, it would be very hard" to operate.

The truck cost approximately $130,000, Rapp said, and the laptop computer was $1,300. The software was provided free by the county.

Besides the mapping system, the Medic 72 has a cot that can carry a person who weighs up to 500 pounds. There is also a lightweight defibrillator on board, medical and trauma bags and oxygen.

On each run, there is a driver and an EMT, though there can be more if necessary. The Medic 72 can transport up to five patients at a time, though Rapp says they want to transport only one if the person is critical.

According to information provided by the Plain Township EMS, as of the first part of February, they have not had any out-of-service hours logged. Not only have they been able to keep in service 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the information says, but they have been able to have a second crew on call during the evening hours and weekends since Medic 72 went in service Aug. 13.

Plain Township EMS is a volunteer/paid service. There are seven full-time volunteers and six part-time personnel on staff. The volunteers work six hours a week and are paid hourly for any hours more than six.

Funding has come from the budget from Plain Township; Kosciusko Community Hospital gave $1,000 to all of the EMS services in the county last fall to use for equipment of their choice; and the EMS volunteers held several pancake-and-sausage breakfasts last year.

Plain Township EMS director is Cathy Rapp; Dave Rapp is captain and Mike Foster is lieutenant. [[In-content Ad]]