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n <br />u <br />2002: Squads separate into South Orange Rescue Squad and Orange EMS and Rescue <br />2005: County merges treatment and transport and rescue squads granted BLS non transport <br />2008: The Franchise Ordinance was revised. <br />2008: Emergency Services Director recommends ambulances be increased from 3% to eight <br />2009: Initial Response Vehicle program shifted to ambulance -based system <br />On May 5, 2009, the Emergency Services Director reported to the Board a need for additional <br />resources including staffing and equipment to improve response times, which at the time were <br />17 minutes rather than the goal of 12 minutes and resulted in 235 instances when an <br />ambulance was not immediately available to respond. <br />On March 25, 2010, the Director of Emergency Services reported to the Assembly of <br />Governments on the continued need for resources to reduce increasing response times (over <br />17 minutes). <br />In early 2011, the department entered into an innovative partnership with Durham Tech. With <br />ten available paramedic positions, a "Paramedic Academy" was created with the goal of training <br />up to ten field -ready paramedics in a shorter time than normal recruitment and hiring processes <br />typically take. When a vacancy occurs, it can take up to six months to recruit, interview, <br />process and hire a candidate. Following the County's vetting process, it then takes an <br />additional 4 -6 months to field train and clear the medic through required testing and <br />credentialing. The plan was to begin training personnel already hired and vetted and develop <br />Orange County paramedics able to operate within the County's medical protocols and <br />departmental policies and procedures. An additional benefit was employee loyalty, which would <br />help to stem the revolving -door process that many employees undertook when a competitive <br />salary was offered elsewhere. <br />With the addition of up to eight additional paramedics, the department will be able to staff <br />another peak load unit (12 -hour) with permanent employees. This was achieved by giving up <br />senior management positions and did not increase the department's personnel line costs. This <br />initiates the process of "right sizing" the EMS branch to accomplish the goal of reducing <br />overtime expenditures. As this was accomplished, immediate deficiencies were addressed; <br />however, the department was unable to add additional ambulances to reduce the growing <br />response time or improve service. <br />Current and Future Stations <br />Currently, the department operates from five stations: <br />Station 1 — Revere Road, Hillsborough: This is the only station that is wholly owned and <br />operated by Orange County and was realized following refurbishing the old Animal Services <br />Building. It is minimally furnished, it does not have backup power to accommodate disaster <br />operations, and units are stored outside in the weather. The station opened for business in <br />2009. <br />Security is adequate, but not excellent, the surrounding parking access parking lot is littered <br />with potholes, and ingresslegress is challenging due to its blind -spot access onto Revere Road. <br />This station renovation was the result of BOCC budgetary support during FY 2008/2009. <br />Station 2 — Robeson Street, Carrboro: OCES has operated from this station, which is owned <br />and operated by the South Orange Rescue Squad, for over twenty years. It has served the unit <br />