Emergency Medical Services (EMS)

EMS is provided countywide by the Board of County Commissioners, sitting as the EMS Authority, a special, countywide taxing district created in 1980 to fund emergency medical services (EMS) throughout Pinellas County. Pinellas County maintains EMS contracts with 19 fire service agencies, and one ambulance provider (Paramedic Plus, operating in Pinellas County under the trade name “Sunstar”).

To meet the emergency medical needs of more than one million residents and visitors, Pinellas County employs a unique all paramedic, first response system of Advanced Life Support (ALS) emergency care. Pinellas County is on the leading edge of emergency medical care, and has become the model for EMS providers throughout Florida and around the world.

• Help Arrives from the Nearest Available Emergency Vehicles
  Operating out of EMS headquarters on Ulmerton Road in Largo, the Sunstar ambulance fleet is positioned strategically throughout Pinellas County.
  

• Pinellas County maintains EMS contracts with 18 fire service agencies throughout the county. The ALS engines and rescue trucks are always ready to respond from neighborhood fire stations.
  

• Radio and Computer Network - Instant Communications
  Pinellas County’s computer network and radio system allow messages to be flashed to all points within the EMS network simultaneously. As information is received about a medical emergency, it is communicated directly to the appropriate vehicles. Field paramedics are continually in touch with area hospitals and the Pinellas County EMS Medical Director.

• When on scene, the Sunstar ambulance provides transportation to the hospital, should that need exist. The fire unit is then free to respond to another emergency.
  
  
  • Handling Trauma by Air
    Victims of trauma must be transported to a specialized trauma center hospital for proper medical care as quickly as possible! When ground transportation could be delayed, patients take to the air with an air transport medical helicopter. Pinellas County EMS permits two air medical agencies, Bayflite and Aeromed, to transport trauma patients. The air transport crew includes a trauma nurse and paramedic, and may also include a trauma physician

• Critical Care Ground Transportation
  For ground transportation of critically ill patients, Sunstar rolls out the “hospital intensive care unit on wheels,” the Critical Care Transport (CCT) vehicle. The CCT is much larger than a regular ambulance, designed to transport critical care patients who require ventilators, numerous medicated IV drips and other forms of intensive medical attention. The CCT carries a transport isolet (infant isolation chamber) as well, for advanced neo-natal life support. On board the CCT is a critical care registered nurse, specially-trained and experienced paramedics and EMTs.