Liberty County is working on making sure there are enough ambulances on duty every day.

Brown said the county has made improvements to the EMS station in the last year, including equipment upgrades — funded through American Rescue Plan Act proceeds — a generator and roof repairs. The county also bought three new EMS units and has addressed pay and compensation for EMTs.

The EMS has three vacancies, as of last week, while it was at 50% strength when the county took it over.

Not including the new station being built, under construction along Highway 17 just south of Midway, the county has invested about $992,000 in EMS in the last year, County Administrator Joey Brown pointed out.

“It’s cost us a lot of money,” Commissioner Connie Thrift, said, “but it’s been well worth it.”

The county also is working to get the EMS license, which Liberty Regional Medical Center still holds.

The county took over emergency medical services operations about a year ago, but the number of patients being transferred to other hospitals has strained the number of EMS units available. County Administrator Joey Brown said they are trying to have five units at all times and most of the time there are four ambulances on duty, with two units in the county at all times.

Currently, the EMS is averaging 45 transfers from Liberty Regional Medical Center each month to other hospitals. Those hospitals range from Augusta, Savannah, Jacksonville and one occasion, Eastman. Two weeks ago, the EMS had three transfers to Augusta area hospitals, EMS director Crystal Hensler told commissioners.

“There is a national shortage in the industry as a whole,” Hensler said. “We can’t rely on our mutual aid partners to help us when we have no units available.”

Just because a hospital accepted a transfer doesn’t mean there is a bed available, Hensler added.

“Sometimes we’re sitting on the wall for six to eight hours,” she said.

“Sometimes, Savannah hospitals don’t take any new patients because they are short-staffed,” commission Chairman Donald Lovette said.

The majority of transfers come out of the emergency room, Hensler said, and are transferred to other hospitals for a higher level of care. Out of roughly some 400 hospital transfers recently, 45 required the ambulance to use lights and sirens.

The county expects there to be about 9,000 total runs for EMS ambulances this year.