Emergency Medical Services

The mission of Cabarrus County Emergency Medical Services is to provide progressive, quality and pre-hospital care as a part of a comprehensive healthcare system to remain synonymous with excellence and provide a nurturing and challenging work environment. We will address the needs of our patients, provide public education and promote community wellness.

Emergency Medical Services (EMS) is responsible for providing advanced medical care and transport to victims of illness or injury. Paramedic care, which is the highest level of pre-hospital care available, is provided to the citizens of Cabarrus County. Paramedics deploy a variety of progressive advanced life support skills to patients during the performance of their duties and continue to be recognized as a model EMS agency across the state and nation.

Public education increases community wellness. Low response times decrease mortality. Advanced care and programs improve patient outcomes. The community paramedic program contributes to community wellness and appropriate use of health resources. Specialty response programs from multiple agencies are supported by Cabarrus EMS paramedics. Cabarrus EMS also provides inter-facility advanced life support transfers (critical care) to address an unmet need for Cabarrus County citizens.

• Cardiac arrest survival rates exceed national standards.
• Actively involved in proving community CPR training to improve cardiac arrest outcomes.
• Received the American Heart Association Mission Lifeline Gold Award for management of heart attack patients.
• Actively engaged as a part of the Mental Health Advisory Board, which includes focus on monitoring and addressing the opioid crisis.
• Community Paramedic program works closely with Atrium Cabarrus to prevent readmission and enhance quality of life for citizens of Cabarrus County.
• Achieved 34% out of hospital cardiac arrest survival for patients with a witnessed cardiac arrest.

• Maintain unit hour utilization (an industry standard for measurement of work load) below 0.3. Average unit hour utilization for calendar year 2021 = 0.36.
• Maintain average response times of less than 8 minutes.
• Managing call volume increase and space needs for department to match rapid growth in the county.
• Increasing healthcare costs and reimbursement model changes.
• Staffing and pay continue to be an industry-wide challenge. Managing part time utilization and overtime.

• This department’s budget has increased due to salary and benefit adjustments as well as inflationary adjustments.
• The budget adds two (2) Paramedics to maintain appropriate response times and prevent ambulance shut down during night shift, as well as three (3) Paramedic Trainee positions that will attend the new Paramedic Academy at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College. Upon completion of the program, these trainees would move into full-time Paramedic positions with a two-year employment commitment to the County.

• The budget also adds one new ambulance

FY 2023 numbers are projections