New Coshocton EMS station is bigger and better
COSHOCTON − Offering a better location for workers that is compatible with current vehicles were the primary reasons for the construction of a new station for Coshocton County Emergency Medical Services.
The agency is still moving into the 12,000-square-foot building at the corner of Walnut and Seventh streets, where Central Elementary School once stood. Coshocton Rotary Club got a tour of the building on Tuesday.
Groundbreaking was in August 2022. Director Todd Shroyer said final costs are to be determined, but he expected it to be from $4.5 million to $5 million.
Funding is coming from bonds and a $1.95 million Targets of Opportunity CARES Act Funding grant from the Ohio Department of Development. Shroyer stresses money for constructing the building is separate form operational funding as the agency is seeking a new 1-mill property tax levy in the spring primary that would generate about $700,000 annually.
The facility features a garage with five ambulance bays and space for equipment, training and living quarters. There is a gym, two laundry facilities, two training rooms, a lounge with kitchen, bathrooms, an examination room if someone comes to the station, five individual bunk rooms and office space. Parked in the garage will be four ambulances and four SUVs. It has 14-foot doors.
"I can't conceive an ambulance in the next 50 years that won't fit in here," Shroyer said.
He said the bays at the previous building on Chestnut Street were not large enough to accommodate new ambulances and personnel did not have proper places to sleep. The Coshocton County Commissioners will explore selling the Chestnut Street building.
"We had out grown the old one, that's the number one reason," Shroyer said of the new building. "The other thing, is hopefully it will help with employee retention. When you're $8 to $10 (an hour) below competitors in the same 20 minute drive, you have to have something else to offer."
Administration is working out of the station now and other personnel and equipment, including vehicles, should be in by the end of March, Shroyer said. The agency currently has 55 employees.
Leonard Hayhurst is a community content coordinator and general news reporter for the Coshocton Tribune with more than 15 years of local journalism experience and multiple awards from the Ohio Associated Press. He can be reached at 740-295-3417 or llhayhur@coshoctontribune.com. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @llhayhurst.
This article originally appeared on Coshocton Tribune: Coshocton County Emergency Medical Services opens new station
