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Web page updated:
06/11/2008
The Delavan
Rescue squad, Inc. is a Not-for-Profit Volunteer / Paid Rescue Squad formed by
a group of concerned local citizens in 1941. At about this same time the very
first recorded First Aid Squad was formed on the East Coast.
By 1954 the City had grown and so did the Squad. Members decided to formalize their commitment and formally incorporated the Squad. During this time period the State of Wisconsin had no requirements for service organizations such as ours. As the sixties rounded by, the death toll on America highways
skyrocketed and the federal Government stepped in and created rules and
curriculum for the first Emergency Medical Technicians course, and Delavan
Rescue was there.
In 1973 the many of the Squad’s members had successfully completed the
training and began a new era in pre-hospital medicine. With formalized
training and real ambulances the sick and injured could now receive the
highest level of care available in the State.
During this time period our
Squad had the luxury of having 8 plus Registered Nurses answering calls for
help. The Squad purchased 2 Life Pak 5 monitor Defibrillators. Our members
were the first to use these in Walworth County and one of the first in the
state to have the ability to do Cardiac monitoring in the field. The 1980’s brought about significant positive changes in EMS. A new higher
level of care was created and again Delavan Rescue was there. The EMT-Intermediate
curriculum became available. This gave EMT’s the training to initiate IV’s,
administer IV medications, Defibrillate and insert advanced airway devices.
Throughout the 1990’s the Squad continued to grow and excel in the
pre-hospital field of medicine. It became obvious that our services needed to
upgrade to maintain our high commitment to the community. Leadership initiated
a plan to convert the Squad to a paramedic level service by the turn of the
century. This very aggressive plan would end up creating the only,
non-municipal,
Not-for Profit Single Paramedic Ambulance service in the State of Wisconsin.
June 25, 2001 the Squad began responding to emergency calls for help as
paramedics. This change in service level was no easy task. Years of planning,the purchase of tens of thousands of dollars of medical equipment and medications. Just to be allowed to start up.
By February 1, 2002 the Squad will be authorized to operate at the New One Paramedic crew level. This again places us in the forefront of Pre-hospital emergency medicine. If not first, we were certainly, one of the first three services in the State of Wisconsin to make this advancement. We currently have three (3) Advanced Life Support Type III ambulances, one (1) Basic Life Support/Backup Type III ambulance, two (2) Paramedic Intercept Vehicles and one 4x4 Ambulance.
We have the availability to respond to multiple emergencies in the city or assist local Basic Life Support services if requested.
Over the recent past our call volume has increased at the rate of 18-22% per year with 2004 being our busiest year to date. We believe we will continue to be the busiest Rescue Squad in Walworth County. We ended 2005 with our call volume ahead of the projected 1,800 patient contacts at 1,940.
The Squad has also obtained an Illinois Ambulance License which has made us the only Paramedic Ambulance Service in southern Wisconsin, to be licensed in multiple states.
Additionally, the Squad is expanding it’s Critical Care Interfaculty Transfers to include, Harvard IL.,
Janesville WI, and Beloit, WI. The Squad has the
capability to transport critical patients to advanced level care centers from
Neenah, WI. to mid state Illinois and often transports into Chicago medical
facilities.In late 2003 the Delavan Rescue Squad, Inc was invited to participate in a
revolutionary new form of Chest Compression Only CPR in conjunction with Dr Kellum, Mercy Walworth Medical Center, facilities in Rock County and the Saver
Heart Center of Tucson AZ. The Squad is one of the first rural Emergency
Medical Services in the country to initiate this aggressive new version of CPR
we call it CCR. We have had amazing success! (information at
CallandPump.org).The Delavan Rescue Squad has been in the forefront of Wisconsin EMS for the majority of it’s history….. the tradition continues!