A committee made up of residents who live on the east end of Liberty County met with the Hospital Authority Board in recent weeks, to continue working toward having improved EMS services provided to the area.

The committee formed earlier this year to secure and adopt a plan to provide quality fire and emergency medical services to residents living on the east end of Liberty County following the Dec. 31, 2018 closure of Eastern District Fire Rescue.

The committee posted an update on social media about the meeting with the hospital authority and EMS. Shawn Parker, EMS director, confirmed to the Courier that progress had been made.

“We are looking to staff the East End with a dedicated unit hopefully within the week,” Parker said in an email last week. “We have some very minor modifications to make to the area our crews will be utilizing in the facility.”

The March 26 update to the Friends of Colonel’s Island Facebook page on EMS services read:

“During his report to the Hospital Authority Board, Shawn Parker, Director of EMS Emergency Management, stated that preparations were being made to provide Emergency Medical Services personnel and an ambulance to provide EMS support to the Eastern District and Midway area from 8 a.m. to 12 a.m. from the Liberty Regional Medical Center East End Clinic located on Islands Highway near the entrance to Tradeport East.

“Based upon recent progress made to accommodate the new personnel at the East End Clinic, EMS staffing at the facility could potentially begin as soon as next week. Shawn and the Hospital Authority Board stated that they intend to continue to monitor EMS support provided to the area with a commitment to potentially increase the level of EMS support in the future as warranted by the availability of facilities and level of EMS resources required to serve the Eastern District and the Midway area.”

The committee also intends to discuss in future the adoption of a Marine Rescue Plan.