About Station 10

Gates County Rescue & EMS is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization listed as a public charity consisting of volunteer members and career staff that provide emergency medical care, stabilization and transport for the sick and injured, and the rescue of individuals from hazardous environments. Working jointly with six county fire departments and law enforcement agencies, we act as an integral part of emergency services by providing county-wide Rescue & Emergency Medical Services, Water Rescue along our western & southern borders in the Chowan River and Land Search and Rescue in North Eastern North Carolina.

Gates County is located in rural Northeastern North Carolina and has a population of just over 10,000 people spread across 364 square miles of mostly swamp, forest, and farm land.  Gates County is bordered to the North by the State of Virginia, to the East by Camden and Pasquotank counties, to the South by Perquimans and Chowan counties, and to the West by the Chowan River and Hertford County, all in North Carolina.  Major highways in the county include US Hwy 13 & NC Hwy 32 running North/South and US Hwy 158 running East/West.  Additionally, Gates County Rescue & EMS provides non-emergency, convalescent, and pre-arranged medical transports to the citizens of Gates County and residents of two in patient facilities located in Gates County.

Currently our minimum staffing is maintained at two Advanced Life Support Ambulances 24 hours a day and as many as four during peak hours based on schedule demands.

Emergency calls are received through Perquimans-Gates Communications, located in Perquimans County, they are triaged using Emergency Medical Dispatch protocols prior to being dispatched through a repeated, two-way radio system. Gates County Rescue & EMS oversees, coordinates, and directs all EMS and patient-related activities in Gates County. This includes establishing system expectations and goals, the assignment of response units, establishing operational procedures, coordinating all EMS QA programs, and overseeing HIPAA/OSHA compliance with all providers as it relates to emergency medical services.

Total annual call volume is just over 2,500 incidents, both emergent and non-emergent originating within the county.  Typically Gates County Rescue & EMS units transport emergency patients to five (5) area hospitals based on patient preference and condition, ultimate control is placed with the medical provider caring for the patient(s) at the time of transport.

The 5 area hospitals include: Sentara Obici Hospital in Suffolk, VA; ECU Health Roanoke-Chowan Hospital in Ahoskie, NC; Sentara Albemarle Medical Center in Elizabeth City, NC;  ECU Health Chowan Hospital in Edenton, NC; and Bon Secours Southampton Medical Center in Franklin, VA. Our units also transport patients to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital in Norfolk, VA as our primary Level One Trauma and Burn Center as well as Percutaneous Coronary Interventions (PCI) capable hospital, Chesapeake Regional Medical Center in Chesapeake, VA or Portsmouth Naval Hospital in Portsmouth, VA, both level two trauma centers and Bon Secours Maryview Medical Center in Portsmouth, VA also a (PCI) capable hospital.

Additionally, ambulances routinely transport to various other dialysis clinics, physician offices, and medical complexes throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.

Medical Control for Gates County is provided by Sentara Albemarle Medical Center in Elizabeth City, NC. The medical director is currently Dr. James Wilson.

There are four (4) Specialty Care Transport Providers (SCTP) that are utilized in Gates County. Sentara Nightingale Regional Air Ambulance based out of Norfolk, VA; ECU Health "Eastcare" based out of  Greenville, NC; Life-Evac based in Petersburg, VA and Dare Med Flight based in Maneto, NC.