CORRECTIONS OFFICERS: VITAL PART OF PUBLIC SAFETY
EMS COMMITTED TO QUALITY CARE AND QUICK RESPONSE
Corrections officers are often unsung heroes of public safety. While not responding to emergencies or patrolling roadways in the public eye, detention center employees are an essential part of law enforcement. They tirelessly enforce the regulations that keep the populations inside and outside of detention facilities safe and protected.
Richland County’s award-winning Emergency Medical Services (EMS) division is one of the busiest — if not the busiest — in South Carolina. Crews respond to more than 74,000 calls each year and participate in more than 650 public events, providing quality care to residents, tourists, students and anyone in need of emergency service anywhere in the County.
Richland County’s Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center (ASGDC) is one of just two adult local detention facilities in South Carolina to be accredited by the American Correctional Association — an impressive status earned when a facility meets 100 percent of mandatory standards. This accreditation is a testament to the dedication of the men and women at ASGDC who rise to the challenge of their demanding jobs, every day, every shift. Although officers’ foremost responsibility is to monitor detainees, they also have the chance to help change lives forever. The interpersonal skills that officers are taught during training are among their most important learned tactics, and officers’ positive influence can help guide some detainees to new life paths. The sense of family and camaraderie that officers say exists among the staff at ASGDC is the foundation of support employees need in what is a demanding and often stressful career. Their mission to protect lives is rooted in a commitment to public safety and sustained through a tight-knit respect for one another.
The men and women of EMS, a division of the Emergency Services Department, are part of an organization that is recognized locally, statewide and nationally for its treatment of heart attack victims, educational efforts, innovative programs and rapid response times. Richland County has received multiple awards from the American Heart Association, the S.C. Emergency Medical Services Network and Palmetto Health (now Prisma Health). And, given the number of patients EMS transports and the geographic size of the County, the EMS response time of eight to 10 minutes has been commended by emergency officials. Richland County EMS has distinguished itself as one of the only EMS divisions in the nation to have a motorcycle paramedic response team that navigates through traffic and other obstacles faster than ambulances. In addition, the division recently initiated South Carolina’s first Mobile Integrated Healthcare Collaborative, which has helped more than 100 patients save more than $300,000 in health care costs.
Department Spotlights
25
