GREATER WENATCHEE, WASHINGTON

The Greater Wenatchee EMS Council serves the Chelan and Douglas County areas in Washington State.

Chelan County covers 2,921 sq. miles with a population of 77,800. They have 11 EMS agencies with 289 EMS providers; of which 37.4% are volunteer. The county has 4 ALS agencies that provide ALS rendezvous to neighboring towns.

Douglas County covers 1,820 sq. miles and has a population of 42,120. They have 5 EMS agencies with 60 EMS providers; of which 70.0% are volunteer. Tw ALS agencies have stations based in Douglas Co., but most of the county depends on rendezvous agreements with ALS services in other counties.

After attending an RA in 2010, Chelan and Douglas Counties began entering data into CARES and instituted HP-CPR. Over the next couple of years, they created a new QI position to assist with defib downloads and CPR quality. Then, around 2015, they began making significant changes at their dispatch center.

From 2011-2014, Chelan and Douglas Counties’ Utstein survival rate averaged 39%. From 2015-2020, they saw an Utstein survival rate of 51%. This improvement was due to aggressive T-CPR, Call Taker QA, Rapid Dispatch, and a Law Enforcement AED program. Chelan and Douglas Counties have shown the incredible power of incremental change over time.  

“We have been on our journey to improve survival from OHCA for over 10 years now. Our mix of a smaller urban and large rural areas contrasts with the large urban centers and so offers a unique perspective. If that perspective can benefit other communities, we would love to provide any help or encouragement that we can.”
– Medical Program Director, Dr. Lance Jobe