It is the mission of the Brazoria County ESD No. 3, EMS Division to provide the best service to the community, both operationally and clinically. To continuously “Raise the Bar,” the EMS Team has recently made significant changes to its operational and clinical initiatives. Under the direction of Medical Director, Scott Weisenborn, the EMS Division has enhanced the clinical training and added point of care initiatives that yield the best possible outcome for patients.

The District recently took delivery of stat-of-the-art Frazer ambulances, ensuring ambulance reliability for several years to come.

Other operational initiatives include the redevelopment of the Field Orientation Program (FTO). The Field Training Evaluation Program (FTEP) has taken the place of the FTO program. FTEP is a phased training program designed for the new clinician to progress from the role of an observer through skill use and directing care to an ability to function as a team leader on EMS responses. All new clinicians are required to complete a minimum of 384 hours of training. Included in the FTEP program is the Field Training Academy. The academy is a forty-hour classroom and field-based training program in which new EMS team members learn BCESD 3 operational processes, clinical procedures and participate in clinical and operational didactic and dynamic training.

Clinical Initiatives include annual cadaver lab training under the direction of the Memorial Hermann Life Flight team. EMS staff are required to perform our low frequency, high risk procedures which is part of their Annual Competency Evaluation testing.

“Annual Cadaver lab training is something we feel is well worth the investment. This training is superior to simulation training and will improve the skills of our clinicians, providing better outcomes for our patients. Our partnership with the Memorial Hermann Healthcare System and Memorial Hermann Life Flight gives us the opportunity to access world class training. The newest training endeavor with Memorial Hermann will give our Paramedics the ability to shadow Dr. Christopher Stephens who is the Director of the Trauma Anesthesiology Division for UTHealth. This high level of training is not available to many EMS providers and is something that sets our division apart from other services,” said Brazoria County Emergency Service District No. 3 EMS Chief, Tim Welch.

Additionally, the EMS Division has recently updated their Patient Care Guidelines. The clinical enhancements in the Patient Care Guidelines enable clinicians to provide cutting edge clinical care including a multimodal pain management regimen, new medications to treat patients in septic shock, and antibiotic therapy for patients with open fractures. In addition, the clinicians are now using IV pumps purchased through a grant from the Savannah North Foundation that will aid in administering the new medications.

Future goals of the clinical leadership team are to add mechanical ventilators to the ambulances as a clinical enhancement. Additionally, Point of Care Ultrasonography (POCUS) and the administration of blood products will be used by EMS Captains/Field Supervisors in the future to enhance patient care.

Brazoria County Emergency Services District No. 3 provides Emergency Medical Service and Fire Suppression to 650 square miles, serving a population of over 86,000. The district includes 4 Emergency Medical Service providers and 9 volunteer and municipal Fire Departments.