History of EMS in Montgomery County
The first Mobile Intensive Care Unit in Montgomery County was established in 1977 by the Timberlakes Volunteer Fire Department. This unit served the southern portion of the county for several years. The remainder of the county was served by “City-County’ Ambulance.
By the early 1980’s, EMS operations had been brought under the umbrella of Medical Center Hospital, the county’s public hospital. MCHD was established and began providing EMS service to all of Montgomery County.
The populated areas received a limited amount of care, sometimes after extremely long response times. MCHD set a standard of providing all taxpayers a high level of standardized care, regardless of residence or socioeconomic background.
In the late 1980’s, MCHD had achieved state and national recognition. MCHD won the National EMS Service of the Year Award and had become pride of southeast Texas. Area services patterned their infrastructure and management techniques after MCHD.
By the mid-1990’s, the service began to stagnate. The Board and EMS management failed to make necessary advancements or incorporate new ideas. In 1995, the Board of Directors elected to privatize EMS in Montgomery County.
In 1997, the Board elected to end the contract with the private service provider. The District resumed public control and oversight of EMS in 1998.
In 1999, MCHD began resuming its role as an industry leader. The addition of state of the art equipment as well as progressive protocols that include the latest in cardiac, pain, and airway management have made a dramatic impact on the patient’s comfort and survivability. The agency has returned to its award winning status.
MCHD responds to in excess of 30,000 calls for assistance each year, transporting approximately 19,000 patients to area hospitals. Currently, fourteen 24-hour ambulances, and as many as four peak-time ambulances cover the 1,100 square miles.
MCHD is planning for the anticipated challenges that will be presented by the predicted growth of Montgomery County. Population growth is expected to increase at a rate of 10-15% annually. Such growth challenged the public safety community
MCHD EMS provides emergency and non-emergency ambulance transport for the citizens and visitors of Montgomery County, Texas. Covering 1100 square miles and population of 360,000, the agency
