Butler Ambulance keeps pace as industry grows
When Clarence Bacher bought the East Jefferson Street ambulance service where he worked as an accountant in 1967, two Cadillac ambulances came with the deal.
Today, the late owner's son, Denny Bacher, oversees a fleet of state-of-the-art ambulances and assistance vans as well as 102 paramedics, emergency medical technicians and wheelchair-van employees at Butler Ambulance Service on First Street, where the company moved in 1974 when the business expanded.
“In the 1960s and early '70s, there was no real training requirement,” Bacher said. “Most of the time it was advanced first aid (training) that our employees had.”
He said back when his dad bought the business, most calls were for fractures or breathing difficulty. Ambulances scooped up the patients, gave them oxygen or stabilized their fractures, and took them to the emergency room.
“The level of patient care today is 100 fold from what it was when we first took over,” Bacher said.
Now, paramedics can intubate patients, start an IV or take electrocardiograms and send them to the hospital in advance of their arrival.
Doctors at the hospital can read the EKG and determine whether the ambulance crew should bring the patient to the emergency room or straight to the cardiac catheterization lab.“It's a higher level of care that patients receive today,” Bacher said.While today's crews answer a total of 33,000 calls between emergency and nonemergency medical services, the two Cadillacs responded to 1,000 to 1,500 calls per year even though the area covered by the company was larger.Emergency medical crews now work 12-hour shifts, four days per week so they can have a long weekend every other week, Bacher said.As was the case in Clarence Bacher's day, Butler Ambulance provides service 24 hours a day, seven days a week all year long.The company now boasts two satellite ambulance stations. A new satellite station was opened in 2017 on Route 8 north near the Unionville Volunteer Fire Company after staging a Butler Ambulance vehicle and crew at the fire hall for almost 20 years.The other satellite is in Butler Township at the intersection of Whitestown and South Eberhart roads. That station opened in 2010.
Bacher said if the main station on First Street is having a busy day, the satellite ambulances will be staged closer to Butler to cover for them. Conversely, if one of the satellite stations is finding itself run ragged, crews at the main station will respond to calls in Meridian or western Butler Township.Bacher explained that the company's business increased in the mid 1970s, when many county volunteer fire departments ceased their ambulance services due to training requirements.“When that started, a lot of volunteer fire departments decided to let go of their ambulance service,” Bacher said.Today, paramedics and EMTs wait in the large garage or day room for the tones that send them toward one or two of the six ambulances at the station.Four of the vehicles are equipped for advanced life support and two for basic life support, Bacher said.Advanced life support ambulances are used for car crashes, heart attack and stroke symptoms and other calls where patients might need a higher level of care.The basic life support units are used to transport patients between the hospital and nursing homes, minor injuries, and to help lift fall victims.
“It's not always a transport,” Bacher said.Sometimes patients refuse treatment by ambulance personnel, which is an expensive situation for the company when an ambulance and crew has been dispatched.“There's no way to recoup those expenses,” Bacher said. “They just have to sign a form that they refuse transport.”Butler Ambulance also stands by at events like races and parades in case an ambulance would be needed.“To be able to give back to the community is important to us,” Bacher said.Regarding paramedics and EMTs, Bacher said all candidates for hire must have their certifications. Paramedic candidates must have their advanced cardiac care certification as well.Both EMTs and paramedics also must have their CPR certifications and emergency vehicle operator certification.Bacher said all potential employees must undergo criminal background and driving background checks as well.
Jesse Haas, a supervisor at Butler Ambulance Service, has hopped on ambulances at the company for 18 years.He said residents call ambulances for more minor injuries and illnesses now than when he started, and the county's aging population has meant an increase in calls for elderly patients.Haas said compared to 2000, crews can provide more advanced care today through medicines that can be administered and diagnostic information sent to the hospital before the patient arrives.“We have better outcomes and less heart damage,” Haas said.As opposed to the scoop-and-run model used by ambulance crews in years past, EMTs and paramedics now try to diagnose and stabilize patients before transporting them to the hospital. That model, Haas said, also has resulted in improved patient outcomes.
John Pakutz, a paramedic of 12 years at Butler Ambulance who is an assistant supervisor, said ambulance crews work very well with city and township fire and police.“We're all pretty much on a first-name basis,” he said.He said police direct traffic and investigate an accident, fire crews cut cars apart in entrapment situations or contain fluid spills. Paramedics and EMTs will help with entrapment if needed by firefighters, Pakutz said.“But our main focus is the patient,” he said.Pakutz said the most satisfying aspect of his job is not letting the dire situations he faces affect him outside of the station.“Knowing we go and deal with some of the situations we deal with and still be able to function as a normal human being (is satisfying),” he said.Pakutz said some calls are hard on ambulance crews, especially those involving the most vulnerable members of the community, like children.
Pakutz said paramedics and EMTs lean on one another when those calls bring the dark clouds.“We have a little family here,” he said. “We use each other as sounding boards and it works out really well.”Pakutz also appreciates hearing how patients are doing.“It is nice to know when you worked really hard that the outcome is they went home and lived a normal life,” Pakutz said. “You know you can make a positive outcome in someone's life who was having a bad day.”Bacher said he hopes Butler Ambulance will continue to positively impact county residents for many years to come.His daughter, Alicia Haas, is the company's billing manager and his son, Nathan, is a paramedic and supervisor.“We've been an important part of the community for a number of years,” Bacher said.
