City of Bethlehem
Emergency Medical Service

Preserve life, improve health, and promote safety

MEET THE EMS STAFF

VIAL OF LIFE

The City of Bethlehem Emergency Medical Services is a division of the Bethlehem Fire Department dedicated to providing pre-hospital emergency medical care within the corporate limits of the City of Bethlehem. The service is licensed by the State of Pennsylvania to provide advanced life support service to the sick and injured. The Service operates six fully equipped advanced life support ambulances staffed by 20 full-time and 15 part-time State Certified Paramedics 24 hours a day 7 days a week responding to more than 8500 “911” calls per year. The Division of Emergency Medical Services is operated under the Direction of Gordon Smith, EMT- P, Assistant Director Thomas Decker, EMT- P, EMS Supervisors William Guth, EMT-P, Jeffrey Fritz, BS, EMT-P, and Jeannette Oaten, EMT-P the Administrative Assistant and PHI (HIPAA) contact person. Dr. John Patterson, Chairman of the St. Luke’s Hospital Emergency Department has been the City Of Bethlehem EMS Service Medical Director since 1983.

The EMS system begins by the patient’s early recognition of an emergency and activation of the EMS system by dialing “911”. Early recognition of medical emergency or injury is important to the outcome of the patient. Bystander first-aid and CPR are a very important aspect of an EMS system. The trained Emergency Medical Dispatchers in the City of Bethlehem Communications Center dispatch the appropriate EMS response to “911” calls. Police Officers and Firefighters are dispatched along with Paramedics to provide early first aid and to relay vital patient information to the responding Paramedics. Police and Firefighters carry first responder kits and automated external defibrillators (AED’s) to aid in the treatment of the sick, injured, and sudden cardiac arrest victim. Paramedics are individuals having special, well-defined skills and knowledge in emergency medicine, one who is concerned for the health and well-being of others and who exercises in his or her daily work painstaking attention to all assigned tasks in order to promote the well-being of others. Paramedics treat the sick and injured while transporting them to the most appropriate hospital within the services response area.

The City of Bethlehem Emergency Medical Services participates in many public relations events and stand-bys such as Boy Scout and Girl Scout education for merit badges, Vial of Life program, career days in high schools, health fairs, and events such as the Illicks Mill Partnership, Musikfest, Celtic Classic, Becahi football games, etc.

The Paramedics for the City serve as preceptors to paramedic students from the Lehigh Valley Hospital George E. Moerkirk Emergency Medical Institute. Paramedic students from the institute get the opportunity to utilize knowledge gained in the didactic portions of their training and apply it in the field under direct supervision of our paramedics. The paramedic students are each required to complete 48 to 96 hours of training as a team member and team leader with Bethlehem EMS before moving on to the next phase of the paramedic student training.

The two hospitals in the City of Bethlehem, Lehigh Valley Hospital Muhlenberg and St. Luke’s Hospital Bethlehem utilize the City of Bethlehem Emergency Medical Service to give their Emergency Medicine Residents and Emergency Department Nurses field experience. Emergency Medical Residents and Registered Nurses ride with our Paramedics to gain knowledge and assist in providing care to patients pre-hospital. The experience of pre-hospital care gives the physicians and nurses a better understanding of the system of Emergency Medical Services.

Anyone interested in knowing more about the City of Bethlehem Emergency Medical Services or Paramedics interested in part-time or full-time employment may call 610-865-7111 Monday through Friday between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. to request an application.