South Taylor Emergency Medical Services (STEMS) is a not-for-profit volunteer ambulance service that provides 911 Basic Life Support, Advanced Life Support, and Mobile Intensive Care Unit support services for south central Taylor County. STEMS is owned and operated by it’s members and is governed by an elected president, vice-president, secretary and treasurer each serving 24 month terms. We are members of and active participants in the Big Country Regional Advisory Council for regional trauma care improvement and the Texas trauma registry. Most of the medics who volunteer for STEMS are also members of the local volunteer fire departments who provide first responder services for us on EMS calls. This service also provides uncompensated mutual aid to other communities that request our service that lay outside our defined 911 response area.
The history of STEMS dates back to 1990 when a core of volunteers saw the need to improve pre-hospital care in the rural area of south Taylor County. Many individuals that were acutely sick or injured had to rely on personal vehicles or wait on Abilene’s ambulance service to get them to the ER. Since that time STEMS has developed from a basic level of service and now offers up to MICU support. The first STEMS volunteers began with an old used ambulance to cover the entire response area. Today, we have 2 brand new Frazer Type III ambulances for a response area of approximately 234 square miles of south Taylor County. Each ambulance is response ready 24/7 so we can overlap the coverage for each community, maintain continuity of care and response coverage. Our base station is at 649 Kent Street in Tuscola and we were fortunate last year to have a new station built on Main & Litel in Buffalo Gap with the help of Taylor County Commissioners.
Officers
Dr Mitchel Moriber, D.O. Medical Director, Emergency Physician serves as Medical Director for several area volunteer fire department first responder organizations including Hawley VFD, View VFD, Potosi VFD, and Jim Ned VFD. Medical Director for Emergency Medical Training Program for TechPro Services of Abilene & PERCOM, Chairs on Medical Directors Committee for Governors board of Trauma Area Council (GTAC)
Tim Brannon, LP, NREMT-P, President, Licensed Paramedic
In 1998 Tim received his ECA patch and volunteered with his wife for a local provider delivering pre-hospital care and transport, which was just the beginning of what he finds incredibly challenging and rewarding. He spent nine months as an ECA then received his basic patch, and continued until he obtained his Paramedic in January of 2002 and then challenged and obtained his NREMT-P in July of 2002. Has worked in the medical field indirectly since the 1980's and in the pre-hospital arena since 1997. Tim holds a AAS degree in Biomedical Equipment Technolgy, ICC Certification in Clinical Engineering and Biomedical Technology, and his Paramedic Certificate from TSTC-Abilene. Tim is also a Certified NAUI Scuba Master Diver with training in search and recovery and also volunteers with Jim Ned Volunteer Fire Department.
Jane Dinsmore, LP, Vice-President, Licensed Paramedic, EMS Educator, PERCOM
Jane has been in EMS for over 20 years and involved in EMS Education since 1993. She has served as EMS Education Director for several agencies including Mother Frances Hospital and Tyler Junior College in Tyler, Texas. She was Director of Operations for Canyon Lake EMS and for Shackelford County EMS, and is currently Vice President of South Taylor EMS. In each of these systems, she also established and maintained in house continuing education programs. She has also functioned on MICU units in 911 systems, as well as aeromedical, throughout her career. Jane has been heavily involved in blazing pathways in distance education opportunities for EMS training since 1998. She established the first approved online initial training program for EMT’s in Texas and has continued to build and provide all levels of online initial training for EMS personnel.
Steve Smith, EMT-B, Treasurer, Emergency Medical Technician, Retired Mechanical Engineer affiliated with and active member of the Elm Valley Church of Christ, and a member of ECCA VFD.
