BUCKHANNON, W.Va. – Upshur County EMS is taking extra steps to ensure that it is prepared to respond to calls during the COVID pandemic.
In addition to using the personal protective equipment (PPE) provided by the county, members of the squad have also started to make their own face shields for use when responding to calls.
Paramedics with the squad explained that while much of the gear is reusable, there’s a limit to how many times a particular piece of PPE can go into service, and that’s something the squad is watching closely.
“We don’t have a shortage of PPE. Obviously we are keeping a good count of our PPE status. We’re using PPE on every call, more so than normal,” Matthew Crawford, a paramedic with the EMS described.
Crawford explained that the Upshur County 911 Center provides a complete set of PPE gear on ambulances for every call they respond to.
