Ambulance Billing | Private Partnerships | The Team | Incident Statistics

Lieutenant ChuckWillard,
EMS Coordinator

The Joliet fire department EMS Division's mission is to provide rapid response to 9-1-1 medical emergencies with the highest level of training, including Advanced Life Support, to the sick and injured, with compassion and regard for safety. We also seek to enhance the quality of living in our community by promoting wellness and health education.

Emergency Medical Services has increased every year since the inception of paramedics in 1989. The Joliet Fire Department strives to have paramedics on scene in less than 6 minutes (after dispatch) more than 90% of the time. The City of Joliet has addressed this issue by providing ALS (advanced life support) ambulances in every fire station in Joliet. This decreases the response time and also improves the response of a second call in the same run area.

The EMS division of the Joliet Fire Department had a very rewarding and successful 2008.

The addition of new tools, like the EZ IO drill (used for quick IV access), combined with current tools like the Auto Pulse and CPAP from 2007, has expanded the arsenal our highly trained paramedics have at their fingertips increasing our ability to preserve life.

This past year has seen 26 firefighters graduate paramedic school. An additional 8 firefighters are scheduled to start medic school in the spring. Upon their successful graduation, 194 of our 209 fire department personnel will be paramedic certified.

Our 12-lead heart monitor program continues to see success. We partnered with both Silver Cross and Provena St. Joes Code STEMI (ST Elevated MI) teams to review patient cases. As part of these teams, the cardiac doctors and nurses, emergency room doctors and nurses, work together with the emergency care providers (JFD) to discuss cases and review areas to find efficiencies. As a result, our teams have reduced the time between a patient being identified as a candidate for life saving cardiac catheterization and the actual surgery.

In addition to our regular duties, Joliet Fire Department paramedics served as on-site medics for numerous local events such as, the Empress Casino, Joliet Jackhammer Baseball, NASCAR, IRL, ARCA, NHRA, Richard Petty Driving School, Joliet Autobahn Country Club, Joliet Township and Plainfield South H.S. football games, Taste of Joliet, Warrior Dash, and various city special events.

The Joliet Fire Department paramedic service proudly continues to serve the citizens of Joliet and the guests who visit our city.

Lt. Chuck Willard
EMS Coordinator

Photo: First paramedic class

Joliet Fire Department requires all new members to achieve a paramedic license. The current process is for all new members to pass FFII and Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) Basic before entering the paramedic program. The EMT-B class is held at Joliet Junior College and is approximately 120 hours in length. The paramedic class is held at Silver Cross Hospital by Will/Grundy EMS system and through Joliet Junior College and is part of a degree program. The paramedic class is over 1000 hours and the course runs approximately one year. 

 
 
 
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