Scottie Cassell was named the interim Patrick County Emergency Management Services (EMS) Director. (Contributed photo)
By Taylor Boyd
Patrick County’s new interim Emergency Management Services (EMS) Director Scottie Cassell has high hopes in the new position that he hopes will become permanent.
Cassell was named to the post when the previous director tendered his resignation after about 60 days in the role.
Although Cassell applied for the position when it first became available in 2021, he said he decided to accept the interim role because he wants to help the county.
“I was a life member at Patrick Henry (Volunteer Fire Department). I joined in 1989. I joined then to help the community, and, in this position, I can help not only the community I’m from, but I can also help the entire county I feel with my 30-some years of fire and rescue experience,” he said.
Cassell, 50, said he believes getting the medical services the county needs in a timely manner will be the biggest challenge he will face in this new role.
“Right now, with coming out of COVID, we really haven’t had any training or classes in the Patrick County area for the last year,” he said. To help address this issue, Patrick County Fire & EMS will hold several courses in the upcoming weeks, including Advanced Cardiac Life Support, Pediatric Advanced Life Support, and Capnography Class.
Cassell said a Basic EMT class is also in the works. He expects it will be held during the summer.
The training classes “will help bring some new people in to get them certified to help on the medical trucks,” he said, and added the classes also can help increase volunteerism, which he said is currently “at an all-time low.”
The planned training sessions also will help Cassell achieve his goal of getting training back up to standards.
“My main goal here now is to get those classes back so we can better serve the people of Patrick County by helping the volunteers get back up to full staff. At the paid service, we definitely would like to get up to full staff so we can get to these calls in a timely manner,” he said.
Station 8, the county’s paid EMS service, currently has eight full-time staff members running calls. Cassell said there are an additional five or six part-time staff members who help respond to calls during heavy call volume.
But, he said, “we’re hurting just like everyone else in the area for part-timers.”
Cassell said Station 8 is also considering creating a Facebook page to post job notices and receive applications for full and part-time positions as they become available.
With budget season swiftly approaching Cassell also has some financial goals he wishes to accomplish, including seeing the part-time truck become a full-time truck. He said this would allow Station 8 to have two full-time trucks that operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
“Unfortunately, volunteerism is down, and it takes at least six months to get a brand new EMT ready for the field when our classes are laid out,” he said.
Cassell said the agency cannot wait that long to get new EMTs because the county’s need is immediate. Additional staff is needed to help combat some of the long response times, he added.
“We are a very large county, and most days, we have just our paid truck and the JEB Stuart (Rescue Squad) truck running,” he said.
In 2021, Station 8 responded to an estimated 1,500 calls, Cassell said, and added that the agency answered 148 calls in January, with local volunteer rescue squads responding to other calls around the county.
“We’re averaging right at 140 (calls) a month just for Station 8. We’re on pace to hit about 1,600 calls or better this year right now,” he said, adding the county has experienced increased call volume over the last two years.
The paid service currently has three ambulances, including single a full-drive vehicle. Station 8 is in the process of replacing its oldest ambulance, Cassell said, and the agency is trying to staff two of its ambulances – one is a 24-hour truck, and the other is a 12-hour truck.
Cassell is hopeful the agency will be in a better position soon.
He also plans to apply for the permanent position, and hopefully emerge successfully so he can work toward providing better service to residents.
Cassell received associate degrees in engineering and Emergency Medicine Paramedic from Patrick & Henry Community College (P&HCC). He also is a Fire Instructor II with the Virginia Department of Fire Programs and has several Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA) certifications.
Cassell started his public safety career in 1989 in Henry County. He spent eight years there in public safety before coming to Patrick County. He also served as part-time career staff in Franklin County and worked as a paid paramedic for Stone Ambulance Services and Lifecare Medical Transport.
Cassell is engaged, with plans to be married in March 2023. He has five children and three grandchildren. In his free time, Cassell enjoys being outdoors, hunting, fishing, and spending time with his daughter and grandchildren.
To register for classes email scassell@co.patrick.va.us.
For more information, go to Facebook.com/PatrickCountyFireandEMS.
