MIDWAY — Liberty County’s EMS units have been rolling out of its new home in east Liberty County for a couple of weeks but the county and the department were excited nonetheless to open it to the public Friday.
County officials cut the ribbon on the $2.65 million, 5,600-square foot building just off Highway 17, replacing an aging structure adjacent to the county public works facility.
“It is a long time coming,” said EMS Director Crystal Hensler.
The new station has room for four ambulances. Two currently call it home, one a 24-hour unit and the other a unit that operates from 8 a.m.8 p.m.
The new building has emergency power in case of an outage and is built to withstand hurricane force winds. It also has the ability for expansion as the county, including the east end, continues to grow, County Administrator Joey Brown said.
“No capital project is without its own challenges,” he said. “Our soil and our own coastal climate made it sometimes challenging. But the team in this process was dedicated to seeing this to the end.”
County commission Chairman Donald Lovette said the EMS had been in “less than optimal housing, and they have not complained.”
“This building is a gift to them and to the citizens of Liberty County,” he said.
“It was not a functional station,” Hensler added. “Our crews work very, very hard and they deserve a place to be able to come home and decompress. They are working 24-hour shifts and get 48 hours off.”
First District Commissioner Marion Stevens recalled how far EMS service has come. Originally, funeral homes provided the ambulances to take patients. Later, the ambulances came out of the old Liberty Memorial Hospital on what was then called Highway 82.
“There was no extraction equipment,” he said. “We had to work two tow trucks to pull cars apart. So thanks to everyone. We have come a long way.”
Hensler also noted the county EMS, which is back under the auspices of the board of commissioners following the transfer of its license from Liberty Regional Medical Center, covers not just the county’s residents but also the nearly 15-mile stretch of I-95.
She also praised the EMTs and paramedics who make up the EMS team.
“This profession isn’t for everyone,” she said. “Sometimes we witness those taking their last breath. Although once in a while, this job has moments to celebrate. Sometimes, we are involved in someone taking their first breath. Our crews have assisted in delivering five healthy new residents into Liberty County and two of those were in the last three weeks.”
The new EMS station was built with special purpose local option sales tax proceeds, and the EMS headquarters on Hinesville’s South Main Street will be expanded and renovated, also with SPLOST money. County commissioners have authorized the EMS building to go out for construction drawings.
The EMS headquarters building will have more room for training, storage and administration and the new headquarters is projected to be about 5,900 square feet. It will be funded through SPLOST VII proceeds.
“Thanks to the power of the penny,” Commissioner Stevens said.