Since being displaced on Saturday from Schneider Regional Medical Center because of ongoing repairs, Emergency Medical Services (EMS) on St. Thomas has been working out of the Omar Browne Fire Station. This location is operating flawlessly, according to both V.I. Fire Service Director Daryl George Sr. and Department of Health Commissioner Justa Encarnacion.
Four EMTs and two ambulances have been working out of the Omar Brown Fire Station near Barbel Plaza, working 24 hours a day without any negative impact on the Emergency Medical Services operations, said Director George.
“On behalf of the men women of the V.I. Fire Service, we welcome our brothers and sisters from EMS with open arms and our continued collaboration as one team with one mission,” George said.
On Tuesday, Emergency Medical Services called the Fire Service for assistance, and firefighters helped the paramedic work on the patient in the ambulance as it drove with a fire truck escort to the Schneider Hospital Emergency Room.
George said he expects the repairs at Schneider Medical Center will take a few weeks to complete, and during that time, St. Thomas EMS will continue to operate out of the Omar Brown Fire Station.
“I fully support having EMS in a central location to provide services with a quicker response time to the community,” Commissioner Encarnacion said. “I have been in communication with the hospital’s (SRMC) acting CEO, and it has been acknowledged that the former space is unavailable. However, we are working expeditiously to integrate Fire and EMS.”
