Two days away from the official move-in day, Clinton County EMS held a public open house Saturday at the facility at 1501 S. Jackson St., or right inside the Clinton County Fairgrounds.
“It’s taken two years,” said EMS Director Greg Miller. “There has been a lot of excitement of the personnel coming over here during the different stages of construction. Last night, they came over here and it’s just like home. They have watched it go up and now they see where they’re going to live. They’re lovin’ it.”
The new 5,000 square foot facility will have two areas in the facility. The public area with a training room, director and assistant director offices will be separated from the restricted access coded living area with eight living “pods”, two showers areas and a kitchen/dayroom area.
There had been some concerns raised about the size of the bays. Miller said that has been taken care of.
“We had ambulances pulled in for the width and for the depth,” said Miller. “We can get a cot out of the back. They’re just going to have careful. They’re not as wide as the ones they’re use to. It shouldn’t be a problem.”
Miller added the old EMS facility worked for the county.
“It wasn’t in the correct spot,” said Miller. “But, it worked for a number of years. Now, we’re set up in this (new) building that will be here for a long time and serve the people for EMS and for the county.”
Miller also said the facility has aided in another huge way.
“We’ve had more enthusiasm about people coming from outside of here looking for jobs once they’ve seen this facility up,” said Miller. “It’s a great plus.”
The new facility will not have a helicopter bad and it will be located at the new hospital campus across Jackson Street.