Bertie County, North Carolina Privatizes Emergency 911 Systems With FirstMed EMS

WINDSOR, N.C., Oct. 4, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- FirstMed EMS is pleased to announce our partnership with Bertie County, North Carolina.  FirstMed EMS began providing Emergency 911 service to the county starting October 1, 2013.  FirstMed EMS is currently providing over 40 positions, both full and part time, in Bertie County, staffing each ambulance to the Advanced Life Support Level.

Bertie County is located in North Eastern North Carolina.  The County is 741 square miles and is home to over 20,000 residents.  FirstMed EMS currently operates 3 stations within the County: Windsor, Colerain, and Aulander with 4 ambulances available 24 hours a day. 

Per Mitch Cooper, Bertie County Director of EMS:  "It has been a very pleasant experience having FirstMed EMS become a part of our public safety community. From their background and history they understood the challenges we were going to face and met each and every one of them head on. They understand the over 40 years of dedication and history of EMS in this county and I'm sure they will carry that on with pride."  

Matt Leicester will serve as the EMS Director of Operations for FirstMed EMS in Bertie County.  Mr. Leicester most recently served as the Fatality Manager for the North Carolina Public Health - Division of Public Health Preparedness & Response, after serving as the Public Health Preparedness Coordinator for the Durham County Department of Public Health.

Prior to his time in public health, Mr. Leicester served as an EMS Supervisor with Johnston County EMS in Smithfield, North Carolina after starting his career as a Paramedic and Field Training Officer with Wake County EMS in Raleigh, North Carolina.  Mr. Leicester has received additional training in Urban Search & Rescue, Traumatic Brain Injury Treatment, and Advanced HAZMAT Life Support, and is certified as an Emergency Manager by the North Carolina Division of Emergency Management.  He has served as an EMS instructor at various community colleges and EMS departments, in addition to being chosen as a guest lecturer at multiple state and national conferences.  Mr. Leicester has been selected to serve as an instructor for the Center for Domestic Preparedness in Anniston, Alabama in their Healthcare Leadership course. 

Mr. Leicester holds multiple degrees from Columbia Southern University including a MBA with a concentration in Public Administration and a Bachelor of Science in Health Care Administration.  Matt also holds an Associate's Degree in EMS from Wilson Technical Community College.

Per Mr. Leicester:  "I'm very excited about the opportunity to join First Med and to bring Paramedic level care to the citizens of Bertie County.  I grew up near Bertie County, so this is like a homecoming of sorts for me.  I am truly happy to be here."

FirstMed EMS, headquartered in Wilmington, North Carolina, is a provider of non-emergency and emergency medical transportation services.  The company, founded in 1988, operates throughout seven states and conducts over 500,000 transports annually.  FirstMed EMS combines its modern fleet of over 670 vehicles and a highly trained workforce of over 2,300 employees.

Contact:
Sabrena Collins
(910) 352-8506
sabrena.collins@firstmedems.com

SOURCE FirstMed EMS