Beginning Efforts
St. Joseph Health created its own Emergency Medical Services team in 1998, on the heels of a study reviewing the future needs of the Brazos Valley. We began our ground service program, picking up 911 contracts in Burleson, Madison, and eventually Grimes and Leon counties. In recent years, we’ve also added transfer-only units in Austin County and at our South College Station Emergency Department.
In 2016, St. Joseph Health launched a new partnership with PHI Air Medical, combining quality emergency care with the capabilities of the country’s leading provider of air medical transport. Today, as one of few health system-operated EMS teams in the state of Texas, St. Joseph Health is able to provide a fluid patient care experience from the patient’s door to our door.
Equipment and Protocols for Fast Treatment
All of our ground units are Mobile Intensive Care Unit (MICU)-capable, carrying the same medications and diagnostic tools patients are likely to see within the first 15-20 minutes of a visit to an ER. We also offer 12-lead transmission capability, meaning we offer a critical diagnostic aid for patients with chest pain or symptoms of heart attack. Our equipment and protocols are applicable to both pediatric patients and adults in need of emergency care.
Our ambulances travel with at least one paramedic credentialed in Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) and Pre-Hospital Trauma Life Support (PHTLS. All our St. Joseph Health Air Medical team members are critical-care credentialed with years of experience.
AirMed12
Through our partnership with PHI Air Medical Services, St. Joseph Health AirMed12 combines quality emergency care with the capabilities of the country’s leading provider of air medical transport. Centralized emergency dispatch and medical direction under St. Joseph Health Regional Emergency & Trauma Center also enable our team to respond quickly and capably in an emergency.
As the designated 911 service in many of our rural communities, we are able to prelaunch our helicopter through our advance protocols, quickly responding to patient scenes.
AirMed12 transports patients to hospitals throughout the region—including hospitals in Houston, Austin, and Temple—as well as critical care transports from our hospitals to outlying areas.