Anderson County EMS crews have returned home after helping with hurricane recovery.
The EMS crews provided essential emergency medical services as part of American Medical Response’s (AMR) Office of Emergency Management FEMA contract.
Anderson County EMS Director and Paramedic Troy Armstrong and EMT Wyatt Westhoff deployed to Greenville, S.C., on September 26, with an Advanced Life Support (ALS) ambulance.
“When we arrived in Greenville, there were about 50 ambulances,” said Armstrong. “By that afternoon, there were 300 ambulances staged, and 100 more arrived overnight. Our drive was long. However, it was tremendous to see crews from places even further away like Colorado, Wyoming, and Arizona. It was a true reflection of teamwork and dedication.”
Their strike team assignment took the crew from South Carolina to North Carolina before the impending arrival of a second hurricane, Milton, diverted efforts to Florida to support relief operations.
The Anderson County EMS crew assisted with the evacuating of multiple healthcare facilities, providing emergency services at a refugee shelter, and supplementing local 911 emergency response efforts in North Carolina and Florida.
“I’m proud that our Anderson County EMS department not only has the skills and equipment but also the support that allowed us to serve this critical need miles away while continuing to provide EMS response to our home community without disruption,” said Armstrong.
“We received so much encouragement and support from our EMS team back home, the hospital, local partnering agencies, our friends and family, and even some special notes from area students. That’s what kept us going.”
Armstrong and Westhoff were relieved from their extended deployment by Paramedic Ashli Gavel and EMT Maralee Clark, who both work on-call for Anderson County EMS. Gavel and Clark completed the assignment and returned with the department ambulance last week.
