Buchanan County EMS breaks ground at new facility

By Jenna Wilson

Buchanan County EMS crews held a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday afternoon to celebrate their new emergency facility opening in Downtown St. Joseph.

With a dense population in Downtown St. Joseph, there’s a growing need for emergency response crews in the area as well.

“Over the past several years, we noticed an increase in our volumes in the inner city of St. Joseph and in this Downtown region,” said Wally Patrick, Buchanan County EMS director. “And we did have a post on 10th and Olive, but it was starting to show its age and we determined that we needed to build a new station in this area so that we could support this part of St. Joseph.”

In about a year, land that sits at 701 S. Seventh St. will consist of a three-bay ambulance building, which emergency crews say will help cover more grounds in a timely manner.

“Right now, we can only have two ambulances at our other Downtown location, but we’ll be able to have three at this location,” said Steve Groshong, Buchanan County EMS operations manager. “That’s exactly what we need because this is our hotspot for the community and busiest post bar.”

This EMS post will dispatch for priority calls from Downtown up to the Shoppes at North Village.

“This will give us a much better footprint within the inner part of the city,” Patrick added.

However, establishing a new facility in a developing part of town with busy streets does come with security concerns, officials say, and they are planning ahead in regard to security measures.

“Of course, we do worry a little bit about village security and security for our folks,” Groshong said. “We’re building in some processes into the building to make the doors open and close faster and more securely. The whole place will be under 24/7 surveillance, and we’ll have rapid open doors and rapid closing gates. So, this is just a few ways to keep somebody from slipping in on the crew when they don’t know they’re there.”

Emergency crews hope being closer to other law enforcement agencies including the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office and St. Joseph Police Department, will assist them with doing their job more effectively.

“Our partners are just around the corner and we all work together daily on just about every call,” Patrick said. “There’s a saying that time is heart muscle and it is. So, the quicker we can get to an individual and start providing advanced medical care, then we can actually save tissue, whether it be the brain, the heart, kidneys or whatever the situation is.”

The $1.5 million EMS building is expected to be completed in September of 2025.