The State Journal-Register (Springfield, IL)
Copyright 2006 The State Journal-Register
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Chestnut Emergency Medical Services was reinstated after an inspection Wednesday morning, a spokesman for the unit said.
Louie Rogers of the Springfield Area Mobile Intensive Care Emergency Medical Services inspected the small Logan County community’s only EMS rig and determined all the numerous violations he discovered during a surprise inspection Sept. 5 have been corrected, according to Chestnut EMS supervisor Roger Hayden.
During the September inspection, Rogers learned the recently modified tanker was not licensed for EMS service, that necessary records were unavailable and that some equipment, such as bandages and sterilized water, was outdated or not included in the inventory.
Mount Pulaski Rural Fire District president Leslie “Foxie” Hild said the Chestnut rig officially returned to service at 11 a.m. Wednesday, following Rogers’ inspection.
But because of a lack of personnel, the level of care provided by Chestnut medical responders has been downgraded from a basic life support service to a first-responder service, Hild said.
Hayden said the first-responder service is not much different than the basic life support service, and the public likely will not notice the change. The biggest difference, he said, is that first-responders cannot administer medications.