Union EMS donates ambulance to Gaston College EMS program
Gaston College is the recipient of a generous donation from Union Emergency Medical Services in Monroe, North Carolina. The agency, affiliated with Atrium Health, is donating to the College a retired ambulance that will be used to train students in the Emergency Medical Science program.
“The ambulance will be shared amongst our three Paramedic programs and two active EMT classes,” said Carrie Gillilan, Instructor and Coordinator of EMS Clinical Education at Gaston College. “The North Carolina Office of EMS has placed a mandatory driving component on all EMT courses. It was going to be a challenge to figure out how the College could accomplish this class requirement for all our students until now. Union EMS has helped the Gaston College EMS program grow so we can produce quality EMTs and Paramedics.”
Bryan Edwards, Chief, Union Emergency Medical Services shows off the retired ambulance.
Bryan Edwards, Chief of Union EMS, said, “Having obtained my AAS from Gaston College in 2004, I wholeheartedly understand the importance of having proper resources. We look forward to participating in a very small piece of the College’s educational process which we hope will give those in the Emergency Medical Science program some of the resources needed to continue educating those who have chosen the honored field of prehospital medicine.”
Edwards coordinated the implementation of the donation with Luke Upchurch, Chief Development Officer and Executive Director of the Gaston College Foundation. “We are very excited about the ambulance donation,” said Upchurch, “and we are appreciative of Union EMS and Atrium Health for their support of our outstanding EMS and Paramedic training programs at Gaston College.”
The ambulance is scheduled to arrive on the College’s Dallas campus on Thursday, September 3. When the ambulance is delivered, it will display Gaston College branding. “We took the liberty of striping the unit with the College’s colors on the sides,” said Edwards. “By working with Carrie Gillilan and Debbie Bowen, the College’s Graphic Design Specialist, we were able to secure the College’s color codes which allowed us to cover Union EMS logos and colors. Although this is not a new ambulance, I have no doubt it will serve the needs of the College for a good while to come.”
Gaston College President John Hauser and members of Gaston College thank Chief Bryan Edwards for the donation of retired ambulance. The ambulance will be shared by the three Paramedic programs and two active EMT classes.
(L to R-front row) Carrie Gillilan, Clinical Coordinator, Gaston College Department for Emergency Medical Science, Bryan Edwards, Chief, Union Emergency Medical Services, and Dr. Dewey Dellinger, Vice President, Gaston College Academic Affairs. (L to R -backrow) Gaston College President John Hauser, Mark Houser, Lead Paramedics Instructor, Gaston College Department for Emergency Medical Science, James Eubank, Director, Gaston College Department for Emergency Medical Services, and Luke Upchurch, Chief Development Officer and Executive Director of Gaston College Foundation.
