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OVER THE DECADES, Bellevue EMS vehicles were coaches and station wagons (like the mid ‘70s Cadillac pictured in front of the former EMS location in what is now Veach Diesel Repair). Then came ambulance vans and now modular units with room for equipment and caring of patients. The first ambulance, (a 1963 Pontiac) was stored at the fire station, then Till Feed Store stone building on Riverview, then the Goetz building (Veach Diesel) and now the newest permanent station on 12th street which EMS moved into on September 14, 2004.
An accident scene from the early 1980s responded to by Bellevue EMS volunteers.
OVER THE DECADES, Bellevue EMS vehicles were coaches and station wagons (like the mid ‘70s Cadillac pictured in front of the former EMS location in what is now Veach Diesel Repair). Then came ambulance vans and now modular units with room for equipment and caring of patients. The first ambulance, (a 1963 Pontiac) was stored at the fire station, then Till Feed Store stone building on Riverview, then the Goetz building (Veach Diesel) and now the newest permanent station on 12th street which EMS moved into on September 14, 2004.
An accident scene from the early 1980s responded to by Bellevue EMS volunteers.
The Bellevue Ambulance service (now known as Bellevue Emergency Medical Services) was organized in late 1971 when the funeral homes were getting out of the ambulance business. Initially a “load and go” service, it was now directed by the state to do more patient care on the scene and en route to the hospitals.
Robert (Bob) Ernst saw the need to continue this service and with the help of his brothers, Gerry and Vern organized Bellevue Ambulance in November of that year.
We bought our first ambulance from Gallagher Funeral Home for the sum of $6,000 and started Bellevue Ambulance on January 1, 1972 with 46 volunteer charter members. (Actually we started coverage the night before, December 31 at 6 p.m. to give Ray Gallagher New Years Eve off).
We bought a second unit for back-up in mid 1972. It was a 1963 Pontiac station wagon for $550.
By June of the first year we were down to 40 members and training in CPR and Basic First Aid, which consisted of control of bleeding, treatment of burns, broken bones and medical emergencies (heart attacks and strokes). I like to say that we operated with 10% medical training and 90% common sense. (Today I say it is 150% training and still 90% common sense).
The Bellevue Hospital was operating for the first two years, closing sometime in 1974 so the majority of our patients were transported there. In 1973 we held an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) class and trained a number of our volunteers as EMTs. This class was held 2 nights a week for 6 months (120 plus hours including clinical time). Interesting tidbit, Rick Jones, prominent Emergency Medical Service (EMS) worker in Dubuque was in that first class.
When the Bellevue Hospital closed the majority of patients were transported to Dubuque or Maquoketa. This involved more transport time. Hospital doctors and nurses stated “quit bringing us dead patients, you need to stabilize patients on the scene”.
You can imagine how this went, bystanders were not used to this and told us to quit “playing doctor’ and just get the patient in the ambulance and get to the hospital. It took a while to train the public on this aspect.
Through the years our vehicles were coaches, station wagons, ambulance vans and now modular units with room for equipment and caring of patients. Our first ambulance was stored at the fire station, then Till Feed Store stone building on Riverview, then the Goetz building (Veach Diesel) and now our newer station on 12th street which we moved into on September 14, 2004. Dispatch locations (which had to be monitored 24 hours a day) were the Bellevue Hospital, until it closed, (phone number 3359) next the City Utilities at the light plant, then Mill Valley Care Center (MVCC) and now Maquoketa Law Center. To receive calls, we started with the telephone (try and tell your family to stay off the phone or keep it short the day or night you were on call). When cordless phones became popular we thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread! We didn’t have to carry the phone outside with a long cord and set it on the steps. When we were dispatched from MVCC we had 2 radios we could check out and carry but needed to be returned at night so they could be recharged. Our training certifications have included EMT, EMT-I (Emergency Medical Technician Intermediate) and P (Paramedic). We started out as a basic transfer service, now a Paramedic Provisional Service.
We are fortunate to have the necessary equipment for patient care, from basic oxygen years ago to monitors/D-Fibs, Auto Pulse, EleGard, power cots, power loaders and other state of the art equipment. Our current ambulances are a 2015 Ford Lifeline and a 2020 Ford Lifeline. We have been running our units for 10 years which meant buying one every 5 years. As the ambulances have improved we hope to get more years from them in the future, but naturally, they have to be dependable. We also have a 2011 Bobcat UTV that we use at football games, timber rescues and special events around town.
We are proud of our facilities on 12th street. The original estimate for the building was $413,000 and was built for $198,000 with donated labor from our local utility company, local citizens, our members and discounts and donations from local contractors. It was paid for with a local bequest, a good sized grant, our capital funds and donations from the community. Bellevue EMS does not receive tax money.
Over the years we have had around 300 members serving Bellevue and the surrounding area. Some members have served a long time, some a short time because of time commitment, family and work schedules. Trauma and tragedies that we deal with also are reasons for shorter serving times. We have used CISD, (Critical Incident Stress Debriefing) a number of times.
Our success of over 50 years is due to 2 main ingredients: community support through benefits, donations, memorials and moral support and dedicated members and their families. EMS gets in your blood, that feeling of helping someone and the compliments from those people. Our local media also does a good job publishing articles in local and area newspapers. Bellevue is fortunate to have hundreds of people volunteering for all the activities going on in our community. This is what makes a successful and friendly small town. We are just a part of this.
We currently have 28 members on BEMS. This includes 6 Paramedics, 19 EMTs and 3 newer members. 6 of our members are satellite members (live out of town and stay at the station the night they are on call). Daytime is open page, night time we schedule 2 or 3 people on a shift. We are scheduled on a night shift every 8 days. One of the Paramedics is a paid employee covering day calls and other functions with Bellevue EMS and Bellevue Fire. She started March 1, 2022.
We schedule and attend classes all year long, some local, some at NICC, the hospitals, Dubuque Training Center and State EMS Conferences. We also have EMS day, usually in February, where we invite people from other services for classes to get training hours.
Our future: Bellevue EMS exists to provide timely and appropriate emergency medical treatment for patients with acute illness or traumatic injury. It recognizes the need to continually improve the delivery of emergency care by providing resources, emphasizing training, promoting data collection/analysis, facilitating communications, promoting standardized medical protocols, promoting public education and promoting injury prevention.
Membership numbers through the years
Editor’s Note: This coming Sunday morning, Max Reed and other longtime members of Bellevue Emergency Medical Services (EMS) will ride down the parade route on streets they have seen at all hours of the day and night since they agreed to become volunteers for the Bellevue Ambulance Service some 50 years ago.
This, as Bellevue EMS, which is marking a half-century of service to the community, has been named the Grand Marshal of Heritage Days 2022. Immediately following the parade, EMS members, honorary members and legacy members will be recognized at a special Grand Marshal ceremony at Cole Park.
The following is an outline of Bellevue EMS, submitted by Max Reed, who was one of the original founders and charter members of the service which has saved countless lives over the decades.
Bellevue EMS (Emergency Medical Services) recently hosted a public Open House to mark 50 years of service, as the organization was established…
For the first time in the 50-year history of Bellevue EMS (Emergency Medical Services) a ful…
Dr. Peter Pauley, a Bellevue dentist and resident for more than four decades, was technicall…
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