Our November meeting was eventful! The club hosted its Annual Veteran Appreciation Meal for local veterans. The club was pleased to recognize and honor the following veterans who attended: Chuck DeHart (club member), Wayne Fulk, Delmas Hinkle, Hank Quesenberry, Nuck Morris, Tom Pruitt, Ed Harper, and Dewey Ritchie. Each guest spoke about their military branch and their service experience. We are forever grateful for the service and sacrifice our military men and women have given to our country.
Looking into the future, plans are currently underway for the development of an emergency medical services (EMS) station to be located at the Ruritan Park on Hopkins Gap Road. The club has been actively involved in championing the development of this station to help improve timely access to fire, rescue, and medical services on the northern end of the county.
The club is donating land to the county to facilitate the construction of this station and will work directly with the Board of Supervisors to bring these critical services directly to our local community. Recognizing that this large area of our county remains underserved by a lack of proximity to fire, rescue, and medical services, the club began petitioning the county to prioritize funding and resources to develop an EMS station in Fulks Run. We are pleased to announce that surveying is underway, and the county is hopeful that construction on the building will begin in 2024. To this end, several county representatives attended the club’s November meeting to provide an update on this project.
Board of Supervisors Chairman Dewey Ritchie, County Administrator Stephen King, and Fire and Rescue Chief Jeremy Holloway presented on the progress made on the new EMS station. According to Holloway, the anticipated number of calls from the Fulks Run EMS station would be approximately 1,500 calls per year or an average of 4 calls per day. EMS critical response of 8 minutes or less is imperative to a positive patient outcome; currently, much of the area that will be served has a response time of 10 minutes or more. The installation of this EMS station will significantly increase positive outcomes for patients in the area by providing more timely care to the remote areas on the northern end of our county.
This effort is a direct result of the club’s effort as well as community support for providing these services. We are grateful to the county for recognizing the need and responding to our efforts. The current services and amenities provided by the park will remain the same, but soon, we will have critical emergency services to add to a long list of benefits provided by our treasured Ruritan Park. Look forward to signs going up soon announcing plans for new construction in the park!
