By Glenn Rolfe

DEWEY BEACH — Demand for paramedic service in coastal communities has led to an expansion of Sussex County Emergency Medical Services in a deal reached with the town.

On Tuesday, County Council approved a request by the county’s EMS director, Robbie Murray, to enter into a lease agreement with Dewey Beach that will base a seasonal paramedic unit along Coastal Highway from late May through early September each year.

“We are looking to run daily from Memorial Day to Labor Day, and then, depending on staffing, we’ll pick up some of the weekend shoulder seasons,” said Mr. Murray.
Council’s vote was 5-0 and will allow a daytime-only, single-person paramedic unit during those months.

“Last summer, we experienced significant increase in our responses to the Lewes and Rehoboth fire districts, just over 21 responses per day on average in the month of July for those two districts,” said Mr. Murray.

He compared that to the rates throughout all of Sussex: “Systemwide, for our paramedic unit, our average is just shy of 10 for a 24-hour period (yearly),” Mr. Murray said.

Those high numbers last summer resulted in neighboring paramedic units responding into those areas several times per day.

The Dewey paramedic unit will be based in a town-owned apartment structure behind its code enforcement station.

Under the agreement, the county will pay the town $500 annually to offset utility costs, Mr. Murray said.

Sussex County EMS also operates a seasonal paramedic unit, Medic 109, near Roxana. It covers the Del. 54 corridor in the Americana Bayside area.

Additionally, the service includes nine 24-hour units and one single-person unit that operates in the daytime only.