BASTROP COUNTY, Texas — If you call for help in Bastrop County, you’re likely to see a volunteer with the Bastrop County First Responders show up before an ambulance does.
Volunteers say they're in desperate need of more ambulances in the county and that the number they have is not enough to keep people safe as the population grows.
“We have a very limited EMS system here in the county. So, Acadian provides us four ambulances to cover Bastrop County,” Preston McGrew, vice president of the Bastrop County First Responders, said.
McGrew said the organization supplements 911 calls. They can respond and stabilize a patient prior to an ambulance showing up. But there are only four ambulances to cover 896 square miles of the county.
“We waited on scene with a patient up to 45 minutes to an hour, waiting for an ambulance to come for a critical patient,” McGrew said.
According to McGrew, Bastrop County also doesn't have big enough hospitals to treat traumatic injuries like heart attacks or strokes. Sometimes, they've had to travel an hour to take patients to a hospital in Austin.
McGrew said the volunteers use their own cars, gas and time to respond to calls. He said he responds to around 40 calls a month.
“I have $20,000 worth of equipment in my vehicle,” McGrew said. “There are times where I’m responding to my home up in Paige to the Caldwell County line. That’s about a 35-minute drive. Sometimes, I still beat the ambulance to the scene.”
Jordana Graber, who has lived in Bastrop County for 15 years, said one of her dad's construction workers fell 20 feet at work last year. She said by the time her dad got to the accident 30 minutes later, there still wasn't an ambulance at the scene.
“He had a pelvic fracture. He had blood coming from his head,” Graber said. They [Bastrop County First Responder volunteers] couldn't transport, so then they called for the helicopter."
McGrew said patients he’s taken care of while waiting for ambulances have passed away before. He said it isn’t a guarantee that an ambulance responding sooner would help keep someone alive, but it’s better than being too late.
“We proposed an ESD, which is an Emergency Service District,” McGrew said, hoping a new ESD will help as Bastrop County expects its population to double by 2040. “We've asked that to be put on the ballot for November.”
A third emergency service district would allow the county to run its own ambulance service and will bring in 11 ambulances in total. The new ambulances would raise property taxes by 10 centers per $100 valuation. For example, if your house is valued at $200,000, then you’d pay an extra $200 a year.
“It's a very nominal increase to property taxes. If you use the service today, you're going to get a bill in the mail. So, ultimately, you're going to pay for the service. But I would rather pay for a service that's kind of going to give us what we need than to give us the minimum that we're currently getting,” McGrew said.
McGrew said they have already received approval from the city of Smithsville and Mustang Ridge, and they plan to ask Bastrop's city council to add the measure to the November ballot.
Mayor Pro-Tem John Kirkland said the first responder volunteers have done a great job for a long time, but that it's probably time to move beyond the volunteer services.
“We shouldn't be relying on a volunteer organization to help stabilize our patients,” McGrew said. “We need an actual ambulance service that can provide for the needs of this county.
The Bastrop County First Responders will present their proposition to the city council on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. Kirkland said if the council votes to put it on the November ballot, it will be up to voters to decide if they want to raise property taxes to have more emergency services.