NGMC emergency medicine residents collaborate with Hall County fire for enhanced emergency response

Northeast Georgia Medical Center (NGMC) Emergency Medicine resident physicians are getting ready to embark on the third year of a groundbreaking collaboration with Hall County Fire Services to enhance emergency response and patient care across the region. This partnership continues to be a significant step forward in community health care and emergency services. 

“We are grateful for the partnership we have with NGMC and the opportunity to help the resident physicians in their careers,” said Hall County Fire Chief Jerry Smith. “This training allows them to see what pre-hospital treatment is like and how our firefighter/paramedics mitigate situations while simultaneously preparing to transport and treat a patient.”

Under this initiative, NGMC Emergency Medicine residents have actively engaged with Hall County Fire personnel in joint training exercises, simulations and real-world emergency responses. Some examples of their training scenarios include 911 dispatch, helicopter EMS,tactical/SWAT, swift water rescue, mountain/austere rescue, wilderness survival and mass casualty incident simulated training. Additionally, resident physicians ride along with Hall County paramedics to learn about evaluation, treatment and transport of patients from the community to the hospital. The goal is to foster seamless communication and coordination between hospital-based physicians and first responders, ensuring that patients receive timely and effective care from the moment emergency services are dispatched. 

NGMC Emergency Medicine physicians have medical oversight of Hall County pre-hospital response, ensuring state-of-the-art quality of care. Some of the residents who are training and learning from Hall County will go on to Emergency Medical Services (EMS)fellowships to become EMS medical directors in the future. 

“The collaboration between NGMC Emergency Medicine residents and Hall County Fire exemplifies a proactive approach to taking care of our community,” said Josh Mugele, MD, program director of the Emergency Medicine Residency program at NGMC. “By pooling resources and expertise, both organizations have set a new standard for emergency response in northeast Georgia.”  

For more information about the Emergency Medicine Residency program at NGMC and Hall County Fire Services, visit their respective websites at ngmcgme.org and hallcounty.org

About NGMC

Since 1951, Northeast Georgia Medical Center (NGMC) has been on a mission of improving the health of our community in all we do. With hospitals located in Gainesville, Braselton, Winder, Dahlonega and Demorest, the five NGMC campuses have a total of more than 950 beds and more than 1,300 medical staff members representing more than 60 specialties. NGMC is part of Northeast Georgia Health System, a non-profit that cares for more than one million people across more than 19 counties. Learn more at nghs.com.

About Hall County Fire Rescue

Hall County Fire Rescue protects 429 square miles, with a population of over 212,000+, not including the millions of visitors Lake Lanier hosts each year. The department is home to almost 400 highly trained, highly dedicated men and women that aim to improve lives through excellent service. The 17^th station was just recently opened in South Hall and the department continues to grow alongside the ever-growing Hall County population. Without fail, our firefighters respond 24/7 to any and all emergencies utilizing their advanced medical skills to provide the best pre-hospital care.