Thank you for visiting the Pettis County Ambulance District website. Please take some time and have a look around to learn more about the vital services your ambulance district provides. Our Board of Directors works to ensure our community’s needs are met. With their guidance and the support of our community, we are able live up to our mission: “To promote the efficient delivery of high-performance pre-hospital emergency services and inter-facility transfers that remain responsive to the patients’ medical needs. Our commitment is to the provision of professional and compassionate care while providing excellence in service.” It has been my goal since PCAD became operational in 2013 to rethink how an EMS agency should function. Missouri allows EMS districts to develop protocols that fit the unique needs of their community, but no EMS agency is an island. We work closely with our partners in Emergency Services - hospitals and clinics, law enforcement agencies, fire departments, communication centers, state and local governing bodies, industries, businesses, and dedicated individuals…all of which are vital in the success of our organization. PCAD proudly stands with our community by working together to provide a safe, professional, and compassionate service for our county’s citizens and visitors. No EMS Chief is an island either, so in 2017 a well-defined, accountable, and efficient Command Staff was implemented. Comprised of myself, an Assistant Chief, Training Chief, and 3 Battalion Chiefs and Captains (one for each shift), we bring nearly 200 years of experience to PCAD! We all share a belief that we should draw from our best experiences and practices to continually improve the district…as a team. The Operational Staff here at PCAD is an amazing group made up of providers from across the state, and PCAD has some of the most highly trained and professional staff in the nation. Our training and Continuous Quality Improvement programs are unparalleled except in the highest-level critical care services. Our Division Chief of Training instructs and coordinates classroom activities as well as distributive education, covering everything from basic life-saving procedures to the most advanced critical care skills available to pre-hospital EMS. We also train as a group without respect to licensure. Our training program is an enormous source of pride for our district. Our EMTs train to perform to the very limits of their licensure on our ALS units and are therefore very well prepared for any Paramedic program, should they wish to advance their EMS career. I could not be prouder of them. Our Advanced Life Support (ALS) providers - Paramedics and a few Nurses – are the best I’ve ever had the privilege of working with, while our Field Training Officers assure everyone is proficient on the excellent equipment we carry. Great people and great equipment are two of my highest priorities. We have high quality mechanical ventilators, IV pumps, ECG monitor/defibrillators, CPR devices, pediatric specialty equipment, video laryngoscopes…and we are always pushing boundaries and training for the level and quality of care our district’s citizens and visitors deserve: excellence in service. It is the single greatest honor of my career to serve the Pettis County Ambulance District, and again I thank you for taking the time to learn more about your EMS organization. Eric W. Dirck EMS Chief, Pettis County Ambulance District
PCAD History
In April of 2012 the Pettis County Ambulance District was established with the goal of providing high-quality emergency medical care to all residents in the approximately 700-square-mile area that is Pettis County.
Pettis County Ambulance District officially began providing emergency medical services to the Pettis County area October 1st, 2013, with approximately thirty employees, five ambulances and one support vehicle. At the time it was estimated to respond to 3,700 calls per year. In 2020 PCAD responded to over 9,000 calls.
The Pettis County Ambulance District has grown to approximately 50 Full-time Employees and 20 part-time staff, 8 staffed ambulances and three support vehicles.
Some additions to our service over the years include but are not limited to:
- Added one satellite station at Highway 50 and TT Highway to further cover the Pettis County area
- Implemented new infection control procedures and equipment for mitigating the COVID pandemic including PAPR respirators, Zoll X series ventilators, LUCAS CPR devices, air scrubber units for ambulances and stations, and UV light decontamination devices.
- Added the position of Chief Financial Officer
- Established contractual agreement with the Professional EMTs and Paramedics of Pettis County IAFF Local 5229
- Developed well-defined protocols and procedures for the Missouri State Fair Volunteer Fire Department
- Established common unit specifications for all PCAD ambulances and equipment
- Added the PCAD Educational Center for employee training courses, holding emergency medical technician courses as well as various EMS educational courses
- Contracted with the Windsor Ambulance District to provide Emergency Medical Services. The district currently staffs two units that provide services to Southwestern Pettis County and the Windsor area, as well as providing transfer and 911 back-up services to the Green Ridge and Sedalia area.
- Improved Medical Billing Services to allow online submission of payments, insurance information, and various other aspects to make the process easier for all
- PCAD is proudly affiliated with the following organizations:
- American Heart Association (AHA)
- National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT)
- Missouri EMS Association (MEMSA)
- American Ambulance Association (AAA)
- The Ambulance District Association of Missouri (ADAM)
- National Academy of Ambulance Compliance (NAAC)
- Pettis County Joint Communications (PCJC)
- Missouri Ambulance Association (MAA)
- Mid-America Regional Council (MARC)
- Fire Fighters Association of America (FFAM)