MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Mon EMS and the Mountaineer Area Rescue Group (MARG)have announced a merger to improve emergency medical service access into the most remote areas of Monongalia County.
“We’re very equipped to handle a lot of emergencies in a lot of places, but our folks aren’t equipped or trained to have water supplies, mapping and compasses,” Mon EMS Executive Director Forest Weyen said. “As you all know, people don’t just get hurt in the middle of the street or the living room.”
Many times people need help in areas like like Coopers Rock State Forest, Snake Hill Wildlife Area, and the headwaters of Cheat Lake. When emergency medical care is needed in such areas it can take extra planning and response time if those assets are not readily available.
“Places that are out reach off-road, all terrain or utility vehicles,” President of MARG Lee Fuell said. “There are portions of the lower Cheat that are inaccessible by conventionally powered boats with propellers, but boats without props like ours can get in there.”
The two entities have spent the 18 to 24 months wading through the details to move forward the announcement. Now, MARG will respond with Mon EMS in remote areas with state-of-the-art equipment to assist locating, accessing, treating, and extricating patients. The agreement also allows properly certified MARG members the become employees of Mon EMS.
“Using Mon EMS equipment and resources to take full spectrum emergency medical service level of care all the way forward to the patient,” Fuell said. “Beyond the reach of conventional EMS and beyond the reach of conventionally powered vehicles.”
The merger will increase the availability and capability of equipment, personnel and gives people in the county more first responder assets.
“By combining resources, by combining our skills set with their skills and legal authorities I think we can do a whole lot to extend high quality care to anybody, anywhere in the county they may be,” Fuell said.
Now, both entities will begin learning more about the skills each use in rescue and medical response situations.
“It works both ways, Lee’s folks are providing training and education- land navigation, compass work and outdoor things for us to where this is a really cool synergistic collaboration where we can get EMS care to the farthest reaches of the county,” Weyen said.