Cypress Creek EMS

Cypress Creek Emergency Medical Services (CCEMS) is an emergency medical service provider in Northwest Harris County in Houston, Texas. CCEMS is one of the most reliable EMS services in Houston, having a response time under seven minutes. All ambulances in use by CCEMS are MICU or Mobile Intensive Care Units, with at least one Paramedic, making all ambulances ALS units. CCEMS has a service area of approximately 250 square miles and has eight stations, an administration, and education center.

History
In 1975, a tragic event occurred in which a man died from a heart attack without pre-hospital care. Afterwards, The FM 1960 Community (The stretch of FM 1960 between I-45 and SH-249), took the initiative to form a emergency medical service which came to be known as Cypress Creek EMS, named after the large creek that runs through the area.

The community desperately raised funds to establish the service and they soon purchased their first ambulance. At this time, all of the CCEMS staff were volunteers with no reinbursement for their services. To this day, volunteers are a large and integral part of the staff and they range from non-medical drivers to emergency medical technicians.

The service relied heavily on donations and fund-raisers as it did not receive government funding. Third-Party billing was initiated in 1993 and allowed Cypress Creek EMS to bill insured patients to help with reimbursement. CCEMS is affiliated with Emergency Services District 11 and is now funded with area tax dollars.

The main fleet today consists of 15 MICU Type III ambulances, five supervisor vehicles, a utility vehicle and a mobile communications command vehicle.

The first responder program allows qualified members to respond to calls in their surrounding area before a medic unit arrives.

CCEMS also has a bike team that performs first response at large events such as parades and festivities.

Clinical Department
The Charles R. Hooks Education Center is a state of the art education facility which provides training programs for Emergency Care Attendants, EMT-Basic, and Paramedics. CCEMS offers these programs for free to medical workers such as Nurses, Firefighters, and CCEMS Staff.

Cypress Creek EMS also offers training by the American Heart Association guidelines in:


 * Heartsaver First Aid,


 * Friends and Family CPR,


 * Heartsaver CPR,


 * Healthcare Provider CPR.

Cypress Creek EMS also has a training program for Tactical Medics, which allows trained emergency medical techinicans to provide support to tactical law enforcement officers.

CCEMS has undergone planning to create a new education center. They are also planning to open a new station and relocate the communication center there.

Stations

 * District 51 - Kuykendahl
 * Medic 51 - Ponderosa Area
 * Medic 52 - Treaschwig
 * Medic 53 - Perry, Near SH-249
 * Medic 54 - Hooks Airport
 * Medic 55 - Champions Area
 * Medic 56 - FM 2920
 * Medic 57 - Bammel N. Houston
 * Medic 591- Huffman, in Atascocita

Medic 521, Medic 522, Medic 523 and Medic 524 are known as "Peak Trucks"; 12-Hour Ambulances that cover the district of regular 24-hour ambulances that are currently responding to a call. There are usually 2-4 peak trucks operating regularly.

Medic 581 and Medic 582 are reserve trucks that are operated through mutual aid with Coastal EMS; A private ambulance service.

Communication Center
The Communication Center, Dispatch, or Comm Center for short, is the primary communication link between the public and CCEMS. When an individual dials 911 and it is determined to be a medical emergency within the service district of CCEMS, it is rerouted to the CCEMS Communication Center. The dispatcher then asks a series of questions to determine the situation. Once a determinant is formed, an ambulance is dispatched to the location. The dispatcher remains on the phone with the caller and asks additional questions to gain information about the event as well as determine the level of priority. The dispatcher also uses the information gained to determine whether the responding crew will need additional assistance such as Fire Department, Law Enforcement, Life Flight, or help from the on-duty supervisor. At this time, the ambulance is en-route and the information gained by the dispatcher is communicated to the ambulance crew.

From when the crew is en-route to the emergency, to when the crew is cleared from the hospital, they remain in contact with the comm center through portable radios, pagers, and cell phones. All trucks also have a Mobile data terminal (MDT) that allows them to transfer information without using online communication. The CCEMS Comm Center also works with other dispatch centers such as the Harris County Sheriff's Department and surrounding area EMS dispatch centers to provide and receive mutual aid.

The Comm Center dispatches fire apparatus in addition to ambulances in the area. The following fire departments are dispatched through the CCEMS Comm Center:


 * Champions Volunteer Fire Department
 * Cypress Creek Volunteer Fire Department
 * Klein Volunteer Fire Department
 * Ponderosa Volunteer Fire Department
 * Spring Volunteer Fire Department
 * Little York Volunteer Fire Department
 * Westlake Volunteer Fire Department
 * Northeast Fire and Rescue
 * West I-10 Volunteer Fire Department

The Comm Center is currently located at the CCEMS Administration building. CCEMS has planned on relocating the Comm Center to a new building at the Charles R. Hooks Education Center.

The CCEMS Comm Center uses the Field Response Guide by the National Academy of Emergency Medical Dispatch.