What is Advanced Life Support?

An Advanced Life Support (ALS) unit is the highest level of pre-hospital care available. There are only two ALS services within Sanilac, Tuscola and Huron Counties - Marlette and Croswell. With the advanced skill level and equipment of an ALS service, patient treatment is improved while recovery time is shortened.

What Kind of Equipment is Included in our ALS Units?

MRH's Advanced Life Support (ALS) units are equipped with state-of-the-art diagnostic and therapeutic equipment. This equipment includes ventilators and I.V. pumps, fetal heart tone monitors, an isolette, 3- and 12- lead EKG monitoring with the ability to send telemetry directly to an ER physician. Paramedics also have the capability to administer more than 40 medications before arrival at the hospital.

Cellular phones are installed in each unit for direct contact with the physicians and physician assistants at the hospital and the patient’s medical condition and treatment is recorded in an electronic chart.

Do I have a choice of which hospital to go to?

We will always respect the patient's right and will continue to transport patients to the hospital of their choice, except for “priority one” situations where to do so may put the patient at risk.

Who Staffs the ALS Units?

Marlette EMS’ ALS units are staffed with qualified paramedics who have had more than two years of EMS training. In addition, our paramedics hold certifications in: Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS), Neonatal Advanced Life Support (NALS), and Pre-hospital Trauma Life Support (PHTLS).

These people are the highest trained pre-hospital care givers in the entire area. All paramedics who work on our ALS units also assist in Marlette Regional Hospital’s Emergency Department to keep their skill levels the highest possible.

What makes Marlette EMS different?

Marlette EMS is made up of 60 local volunteers who are dedicated to supplying the highest level of pre-hospital care to each member of the community.

Volunteers are licensed by the State of Michigan as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), EMT-Specialist (EMT-S), EMT-Paramedic (EMT-P), or EMT-Instructor/Coordinator (EMT-I/C). In addition, our EMS professionals benefit from ongoing training and education provided to all of MRH's staff.

Where does Marlette EMS Serve?

Marlette EMS, comprised of three transporting ambulances and one non-transporting ECHO unit, currently respond to approximately 2,200 calls annually. These calls occur within Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, and Lapeer Counties, and Goodland Twp.