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Purpose:
We exist for the purpose of helping our community in their time of need
Mission:
We will endeavor to always deliver the best available emergency medical care centered on quality, kindness, and competence in an effort to decrease illness and preserve the gift of human life.
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Welcome to the all new site for the Hopewell Emergency Crew. We are a volunteer EMS organization located within the historic city of Hopewell, Virginia. For over sixty years, we have served the citizens of Hopewell and that loyalty to our community continues today. We operate four ambulances which are licensed to provide both Basic and Advanced Life Support. Each of our ambulances are equipped with the latest in health care technology and staffed by highly trained and competent pre-hospital medical providers. All calls for service are dispatched by the City of Hopewell's Emergency Communications Center which operates twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Hopewell EMS serves as the primary EMS agency for the city of Hopewell, a population of just under 23,000, and we also provide mutual aid response to surrounding localities. We invite you to browse our site and learn more about your local volunteer emergency crew. | |
Diversion? What Do You Mean Diversion?
Understanding Hospital Diversion Status and How It Affects You.
With the already overwhelming population increase in the Tri-Cities area and more expected within the next couple of years, you can probably imagine that the demand for medical attention is going to rise as a result. Area hospitals have already seen a dramatic increase in those seeking medical attention in the last six months to a year and that increase is only expected to get worse. But what do hospitals do when the demand for service exceeds their ability to supply. One way to maintain some of that control is by going on diversion. Let's first explain what diversion is and why a hospital can do it. According to the state of Virginia, all ambulances are required to carry certain equipment, supplies, medications, and other medical stock in order to be licensed. This gives every ambulance the necessary supplies to provide medical stabilization and even life-saving interventions while en-route to the medical facility. Due to this fact, an ambulance can usually maintain a seriously ill patient until they arrive at the medical facility. Diversion is a status that applies to ambulances. When a hospital goes on diversion, they are requesting that ambulances NOT bring patients to their emergency room if at all possible and if stable enough to be transported to the next closest facility. This happens because of several reasons but the most common is this...usually the department has exhausted all resources and as a safety precaution, they are requesting ambulances divert. In other words, they have more than they are capable of safely handling. As stated before, because we have the means to stabilize and perform life-saving interventions, we are expected to honor the hospitals request. This does not mean you cant be seen by that ER. First of all, no hospital can turn away any patient who walks through their doors. So, no matter how busy a facility may be and regardless of what status they currently are on, if you walk in, you have to be seen. Secondly, any ambulance can overide a hospitals diversion status anytime there is an immediate threat to life and/or limb. Simply put, if a provider feels that the patients condition is grave, he or she can overide the diversion status. When most of the area hospitals are on diversion, MCV becomes our regional medical control. This means that each time an ambulance is called and the patient states that they do want to be transported to the hospital, the provider must contact MCV's communications center and they will tell the provider where to take the patient based on the patients complaint and current condition. The one negative about this is that once the provider has recieved the transport assignment from MCV, it cannot be changed unless the patients condition becomes worse or life threatning. It is important to realize and understand that ambulances are provided for medical emergencies. It can become very taxing on any EMS system to have to go through this process each time for non-urgent and non-medical problems. Also, this can further complicate the diversion status of many facilities. We hope this article has been informative and educational. If you have further questions concerning diversion and how it affects you, please feel free to email us at webmaster@hopewellems.com.
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Hopewell Emergency Crew thanks and recognizes its generous supporters.
You can visit any of the organizations above simply by clicking on their logo.
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What's New At The Crew
 Meet Our First Volunteer Spotlight
Hopewell EMS announces newest Volunteer Spotlight. Designed to introduce our volunteers to our community, the Volunteer Spotlight is now available and will feature a different volunteer each quarter.
Sign Our New Guest Book
We now have in operation a new guest book for our website. While visiting our site, take a minute to sign the guest book.
Introducing The Garry H. Clatterbuck Memorial Scholarship
This scholarship was created to honor the legacy of one man with the heart of gold. To learn more about this scholarship and the legacy behind it, click here.
Crew Central Is In Full Operation
Crew Central, the members only section of Hopewell EMS is now in full operation. All members are encouraged to log on and see what's new.
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Volunteers Serving The Community
This website was designed, built, and is currently maintained by the members of Hopewell Emergency Crew, Inc.
Kenneth E. Evans, Webmaster
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