First Responders
Reporting to the Sheboygan County EMS Council, Unit 816 was established in the latter half of 1998 under the auspices of the Elkhart Lake Village Board and the Elkhart Lake Police Department. The eight original members responded to emergency medical calls in the Village of Elkhart Lake and Town of Rhine.
Since that time, the unit has increased to 18 certified volunteer members who, using their own vehicles, are able to respond to emergency calls under four minutes. The maximum membership for the unit stands at 25 at this time.
Since its inception, Unit 816 has operated under the philosophy of both being mobile and timely. It also is an entity unto itself, a department of the village like the fire department or the police department, being funded by the Village of Elkhart Lake, Town of Rhine, and donations.
Unit 816 operates with three officers and an administrative secretary. As of January 1, 2011 the officers are:
Captain: Jeff Miller
Lieutenant: Amy Brown
Training Officer: Rob Schmidt
Administrative Secretary: Lisa Holzmann
All members of the unit start at the level of training as First Responder/AED level. Over the past three years eight of the present members have increased their treatment capability through education to the next level of Emergency Medical Technician – Basic. The unit also has one member that is another step above, that of Intermediate EMT.
These volunteers have averaged over 100 patient contacts in each of the past four years with about 50% patient contacts in the village and 50% in the town. It is the fairly even distribution of member residencies in the village and township that enable the unit to maintain its excellent response times.
Unit 816 is headquartered at 610 N. Lincol Street in the Village of Elkhart Lake (the new fire station). Meetings are on the first Monday of each month, with a training session commencing at 6:30 pm with the business meeting following at 7:30 pm.
The unit is always attempting to recruit volunteers willing to serve in a medical emergency capacity. After serving a probationary period and six months of service, the licensed individual will be reimbursed for the cost of First Responder/AED training. Contact may be made at 876-3333 by voice mail, by contacting any one of the individuals listed above, orany of the other members of the unit if they are known. The unit may be reached through its email service at elfr816@excel.com.
Website: www.elkhartlake816.org
