Along with the renovation of the Decatur County EMS Headquarters, Grady EMS is moving closer and closer to fully integrating their system into Decatur County.

According to Decatur County Administrator Gary Breedlove, Grady EMS is almost finished with the screening process for Decatur EMS workers.

“As I understand, everyone has been offered (a job) pending medical screening,” Breedlove said. “I don’t know what there medical screening involves, but that’s all looking good.”

Breedlove also said Grady EMS has chosen a new EMS director. Randall Williams, a Colquitt native with 13 years of paramedic experience, will be stepping in to fill the role in place of current interim director Elijah McCoy.

The transition over the past months, though busy, has been smooth and natural, Breedlove said.

“(Grady EMS) has been professional, they have taken an initative and have been positive about it,” Breedlove said. “They want to do a good job.”

Breedlove also mentioned Grady EMS is looking at establishing a substation in the south part of the county near Attapulgus.

“They will be physically closer, and it will help the response time,” Breedlove said.

Decatur County EMS dispatchers are also being heavily trained by Grady EMS. Over the past two weeks, a number of employees have traveled to Atlanta to be trained in Emergency Medical Dispatch.

EMD training has taught the dispatchers what can be done during actual 911 calls to help the survivability of an injured victim.

“The dispatcher talking to whoever is calling in  can say what they can do to mitigate the EMS circumstances while the ambulance is getting there,” Breedlove said. “So it will statistically improve survivability. It will be good for us and Grady County, because we dispatch there too.”

Breedlove said Decatur County EMS had EMD budgeted for later this year, but since Grady EMS has done the job for them, they plan on using the money for an EMS pre-screening software.

“For a 911 director, you have to be calm, be able to picture things and know the county,” Breedlove said. “There is a pre-screening software that will allow us to better screen applicants so we don’t go four weeks or six weeks down the line and we figure out they can’t do this.”