BRS ambulance turning over patient care on a critical call to lifenet of ny (air medical / medevac helicopter)
all 3 peak service time brs crews at the svmc emergency department at once. this is not an uncommon site between 11 am - 9 pm.
at a fire scene providing support for our colleagues in the volunteer fire service and displaced residents
Primary EMS Response & Care
Bennington Rescue provides primary EMS ambulance coverage to the Vermont Towns of Bennington, Woodford, and most of Shaftsbury.
Critical Decision-Making
Our crew members train and are tested on decision making before being cleared to practice. In the case of former patient and now friend of BRS Rick Davis, this made all the difference. After a severe motor vehicle collision our crew members made the decision to transport an hour away to Albany Medical Center when a medevac helicopter was not available due to weather. It was a long road of recovery but one that may not have been possible without the training & action of BRS crew members.
Normal staffing consists of 2 morning ambulance crews, 1 late morning to evening crew, and 1-2 night ambulance crews.
In addition to scheduled ambulance crews, our supervisors (Captains) or EMS-licensed administrators may assist or field an additional ambulance crew during peak hours or for significant incidents.
We have 5 ambulances, 2 quick response vehicles, and 1 event/mass casualty/command trailer for larger incidents.
We train, empower, and expect our crew members to make the most appropriate decisions for our patients (see the sidebar photo). Although 98-99% of our patients go to SVMC, our local community hospital, some cases require complex medical interventions like heart attacks, strokes, and trauma. We work with our regional air medical (helicopter) services or transport by ground to work to ensure our patients get to the most appropriate facility all of which are 35-60 minutes away in ideal driving conditions.
The number of call requests fluctuate, with an overall trend of 3-10% growth in emergency/911 requests each year since 2021.
Mutual Aid
We provide mutual aid ambulance response to Vermont EMS District 12 agencies and bordering towns in Rensselaer (Hoosick/Hoosick Falls & Petersburgh) & Washington (Cambridge Valley area) Counties. Likewise, we request mutual aid from other communities to help when call volume exceeds the number of ambulances we have on duty.
Paramedic Intercept
We provide paramedic intercept services to other EMS agencies that have a Paramedic Intercept Agreement with Bennington Rescue. These agreements are put into place for agencies that do not have a license at the paramedic level or have times when paramedic staffing is not available.
To learn more about the VT EMS System, BRS Primary Coverage Area Map, VT EMS District 12, and levels of care head to our EMS System information page.
