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County working to increase EMS coverage
PS EMS

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.

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UPDATE: Final missing soldier found
Lithaunia search Tuesday
A bulldozer moves gravel to pave a roadway within the area following the recovery of a U.S. Army M88 Hercules recovery vehicle that had been submerged under several meters of water in a swamp near a training area in Pabradė, Lithuania.

The fourth U.S. Army soldier assigned to 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division was found deceased near Pabradė, Lithuania the afternoon of April 1.  

The soldier’s identity is being withheld pending confirmation of notification of next of kin.  

The 3rd ID identified on its X account the other three soldiers as Sgt. Edvin Franco, Sgt. Jose Duenez and PFC Dante Taitano.

"First and foremost, we offer condolences to the loved ones of our soldiers,” said Gen. Christopher Donahue, commander of U.S. Army Europe and Africa. “I can't say enough about the support our Lithuanian Allies have provided us. We have leaned on them, and they, alongside our Polish and Estonian Allies - and our own sailors, airmen and experts from the Corps of Engineers - have enabled us to find and bring home our soldiers. This is a tragic event, but it reinforces what it means to have Allies and friends.” 

The four soldiers, who were the crew of a M88A2 armored recovery vehicle, went missing in the early morning hours of March 25. Their vehicle eventually was found March 26 but it was beneath approximately 14 feet of water and sunk into more than six feet of mud.

Crews worked to drain the area around the vehicle to make it stable for heavy equipment needed to pull out the M88. U.S. Navy divers were flown in and attached cables to hoist points so the submerged vehicle could be lifted out of the bog.

"This past week has been devastating. Today our hearts bear the weight of an unbearable pain with the loss of our final Dogface Soldier," said Maj. Gen. Christopher Norrie, 3rd ID commanding general. “Though we have received some closure, the world is darker without them.” 

The soldier was found after a search by hundreds of rescue workers from the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, Lithuanian Armed Forces, Polish Armed Forces, Estonian Armed Forces, and many other elements of the Lithuanian government and civilian agencies. 

“We are incredibly relieved that we were able to bring this recovery to an end and bring closure to all the families, friends and teammates of our soldiers,” said Maj. Gen. Curtis Taylor, commanding general of the 1st Armored Division, who also grew up on Fort Stewart. “We cannot thank our Allies and fellow service members enough, especially the Lithuanians, who spared no resource in support of this mission. Together, we delivered on our promise to never leave a fallen comrade.” 

Throughout the seven-day recovery effort, the combined and joint team worked day and night to find the soldiers. 

“As the fourth and final soldier has been recovered from this tragic accident, we will continue to mourn their loss as we work to quickly return our Dog Face Soldiers home to their families,” said Lt. Gen. Charles Costanza, commanding general of V Corps and former Fort Stewart and 3rd ID commanding general. “It has been truly amazing and very humbling to watch the incredible recovery team from different commands, countries and continents come together and give everything to recover our Soldiers. Thank you, Lithuania, Poland, Estonia, the U.S. Navy and the Army Corps of Engineers. We are forever grateful.” 

All four soldiers were deployed to Lithuania in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve to provide credible ground deterrence alongside Allies and partners, and were permanently stationed at Fort Stewart. 

“I'm immensely proud of our entire team. They have been relentless in their efforts to search and recover our soldiers and get every capability and asset necessary to enable this effort,” Gen. Donahue said. 

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth also posted on X his sorrow at the loss of the four soldiers.

“I want to personally extend my deepest condolences to the families of all four fallen Soldiers,” he wrote. “Our hearts are heavy across the Department of Defense. We are deeply grateful to our brave servicemembers who enabled this difficult recovery and to our Lithuanian hosts who labored alongside them. The recovery was conducted with urgency, resolve and deep respect for the fallen. We will never forget these soldiers — and our prayers are with their families.”

The U.S. Army is investigating the cause of the accident. Updates will be provided as more information becomes available. 

"We continue to stand by the families and loved ones through this incredibly difficult time,” said Maj. Gen. Norrie. “Now, it’s time to bring them home.” 

 

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