Albany Area EMS History

On September 17, 1974, a meeting was held at the Albany High School for the purpose of updating the Albany community ambulance service.  A large crowd attended this meeting and understood the needs to Albany.  On October 15, 1974, another meeting was held at the school for the purpose of forming a steering committee.  Through these two meetings a temporary community steering committee for emergency medical services was formed.  On October 29, 1974, another meeting was held & this was established direction and goals for the future of ambulance service in the Albany community.  The two public meetings had discussed three options: 1. new certified ambulance with fully trained crews; 2. crews trained locally to respond to emergencies with ambulances dispatched from surrounding communities; or 3. outside sources providing the ambulance as well as the personnel with this community not participating.  The public meetings discounted the third option and the the first meeting of this steering committee it was decided to proceed with the first option as the main goal.

At the first meeting of the steering committee, Stanton Steuri was chosen as chairperson and the following committees chosen:  

Community Liaison:  Chairman - Robert Bump, James Johnson, and Staton Steuri

Legal Committee: Arlin Hanson, LaNore Jones, and John Macke

Finance Committee: Gary Lewis, Quentin Meracle, and Mary Striker

Training Committee:  Chairman Larry Hanson, Timothy Jones, and Ardith Moldenhauer

Equipment Committee:  Chairman James Murphy with two additional members select at a later date

On November 20, 1974, the Albany Community Health Planning Council was incorporated.  The drive for raising funds for the ambulance was started with different committees meeting with different townships, village officials, churchs, and other organizations, even putting piggy banks in business places with selling memberships in the organization for $2.50 and up.  On December 9, 1974, the first officers of ACHPC, Inc. were elected.  They were President Stanton Steuri, Vice President Arlin Hanson, Secretary Mary Stricker, and Treasurer John Macke.  That evening several ambulances were on display and the group chose one.  On March 20, 1975, the ambulance arrived in the village.   On March 21, 1975, the ambulance number of 860 was assigned, and the first paging system was installed in the Sheriff's department.  It was decided that at 11:00 p.m. on March 22, 1975, the ambulance would be put into service.  Seventeen hours later the crew made their first run with the new ambulance.

In 2000, Albany EMS took a step forward in providing optimal patient care by becoming certified as an Advanced EMT Service.  As an AEMT unit, certified crew members can administer IV therapy, prescribed cardiac drugs such as Nitro, albuterol for breathing difficulties, and IV Dextrose for diabetic emergencies.  In 2019, under flexible staffing legislation, current paramedics, with approval from the medical director, can operate at the paramedic level when an approved paramedic is on the ambulance.  at minimum, we proved Advanced EMT level service on each call.

In the spring of 2016, with great support and assistance given by the whole community, Albany EMS was able to purchase and welcome a new ambulance.  This ambulance features a self-loading power cot which decreases the potential for back injuries to the EMTs.  The ambulance also carries a cardiac monitor capable of defibrillation and acquiring EKG's and an automact CPR device that provides constant quality compressions to a patient in cardiac arrest.

As a service, Albany EMS offers three levels of patient care:

• Emergency Medical Responder, which can provide skills such as airway management and trauma care.
• Emergency Medical Technician, which can provide airway management, trauma care, basic cardiac care and give some medicines.
• Advanced Emergency Technician, which can provide the care of a basic EMT but can also administer more medications and provide IV therapy.

Monthly trainings, special conferences, and other educational resources allow crew members to stay up to date in the latest developments of emergency medicine.

Albany EMS is always in search of new members to enter this challenging and rewarding field!