HISTORY
Jefferson Hills Area Ambulance Association (1974 – 1993)
Prior to 1976, Emergency Medical Services in Jefferson Hills, and much of America, was provided by the police department. In Jefferson Hills this service was provided by a special police unit, Car 34. When a medical call was dispatched one police officer would drive to the scene and another would drive to the station to acquire Car 34 and respond with the first responder. Additionally, medical training and care were very limited, often to speed in transport, basic first-aid care, and hope.
In 1975 community officials and members of the 885 Area VFC recognized a need for improvement in handling prehospital care services and took steps to forming what would become the Jefferson Hills Area Ambulance Association. Initial members consisted of members from the Jefferson Hills fire companies and the Jefferson Hills Police Department. The first station was housed in the old 885 Area Fire Company station located at 1211 SR 885, today this building still exists as Al’s Cone Zone. It was then time to purchase their first ambulance, from Dravosburg #1, a 1964 Cadillac Superior Ambulance. Other equipment to stock the ambulance were purchased through state grants, the police department also donated a UHF radio to communicate between the police department and ambulance service. Other donations were made by local businesses so the ambulance association could purchase necessary equipment and some equipment was made in house by the members of the ambulance association.
The association was created and a charter was formed listing the first board members and officers: Trustees: John Yanik, Robert Huffman, Ray Whitehouse – President: John Lattanzi – Vice President: Bob Johnston or Bob Huffman – Secretary/Treasurer: George Townsend – Medical Coordinator: Ralph Travis – Assistant Medical Coordinator: William Madden
On January 1st 1976 at 12:01 AM, Car 34 was retired and Medic 34 went into service. Three days later the first emergency call was ran. Police officers were later trained as EMTs and Paramedics, all of these individuals volunteered their time with the ambulance service.
In spring of 1975 JHAAA decided to expand capabilities to provide Advanced Life Support; the lions club raised money to purchase a Life Pak 5. An orange craftsman toolbox was used as the drug box. The first medical command services were provided to JHAAA through Columbia Hospital in Wilkinsburg.
Physio Control delivered to JHAAA a Life Pak 4 as the Life Pak 5 was experiencing delays in delivery. This device and the drug box weighed a combined 80 pounds! Initially the service only had one paramedic to provide ALS (Advanced Life Support) care, when ALS backup was needed the ambulance crew would request help via the police dispatcher and he/she would call him via his home phone. Later, as the service gained more paramedics, pagers were purchased for the fire and ambulance personnel so the dispatcher could alert them via the radio. The paramedic responding would still phone into the dispatcher to confirm they were responding, they would also carry spare change in their personal vehicles to use a payphone in case they were away from home.
Elizabeth Township Area EMS (1993 – 2006)
Elizabeth Township Area EMS (ETAEMS) was established in 1993 as needs in prehospital care were growing and changing. A large number of resources came from Elizabeth Township in the form of a loan and from the township’s fire companies who had provided ambulance services to the area. In their first year of operation, in 1993, ETAEMS responded to 679 calls for service.
In 1998 Elizabeth Township Area EMS began providing coverage to Elizabeth Borough. Later this service would be provided by JHAAA, and then SouthEast Regional EMS. That same year, ETAEMS would provide ALS backup to the BLS (Basic Life Support) ambulance out of Lincoln Borough, then Ambulance 610.
In 1999 following the closure of Central Ambulance ETAEMS further expanded its service area into Liberty Borough, today this is the northernmost borough of SEREMS’s service area.
As Elizabeth Township Area EMS grew, so did its call volume and need for greater operational resources. From 1993 to 2004 ETAEMS operated out of a repurposed portion of an auto parts store, with the store continuing to operate on one side and the ambulance service on the other. With the assistance of members of the township’s volunteer fire companies, who originally provided a majority of EMS services to the township, the initial station was built.
The first ETAEMS station consisted of one garage door leading into a bay that could accommodate two ambulances, sleeping quarters, a kitchen, day room, and a loft that was used to store equipment. In 2004 ETAEMS recognized the need to expand to a larger station, it was then decided to relocate to today’s Swiss Alpine Village station, at 911 Swiss Way in Elizabeth Township, that still operates as SouthEast Regional EMS Station Two. The new station was 6,000 square feet in size and consisted of a five bay garage, administrative offices, charting area, conference room, and a generally larger space for the ambulance service to operate. In 2006, ETAEMS operated nearly 5,000 details, an increase in call volume of over 700%!
Jefferson Hills Area Ambulance Association (2006-2017)
In 2006 after much relocating between multiple sites at the Jefferson Regional Medical Center, today AHN Jefferson, and multiple sub stations within the Volunteer Fire Companies in its service area; JHAAA also recognized the need to operate out of an expanded station to function out of. In 2007 Jefferson Hills Area Ambulance Association moved into its new station located at 2121 Century Drive in Jefferson Hills. Today this station operates as the main station for SouthEast Regional EMS, Station One. The station features four ambulance bays that can house six vehicles, an auxiliary garage that can house another four units, a mechanics bay for the company mechanic, crew charting area, training center, living quarters, and two bunk rooms that can accommodate six crew members.
SouthEast Regional EMS (2017 – Onward)
SouthEast Regional EMS (SEREMS) was formed in 2017 following the merger of the Jefferson Hills Area Ambulance Association and Elizabeth Township Area EMS where leaders in both agencies identified an opportunity for growth and success via cooperation through a larger comprehensive organization of service professionals.
In 2019 SEREMS began providing coverage to the City of Clairton following the closure of Clairton Emergency Medical Services. In 2022 SouthEast Regional EMS and Tri-Community Ambulance entered into an operational partnership where SouthEast Regional EMS managed the day-to-day operational and administrative functions of Tri-Community Ambulance Service.
SouthEast Regional EMS (Today)
Today, SouthEast Regional EMS covers over 132 square miles of service area across 14 municipalities. In conjunction with Tri-Community Ambulance Service, we operate 12 Advanced Life Support Ambulances, two Advanced Life Support Squads, one Basic Life Support Squad, four command vehicles, one all-terrain vehicle, one medical transport van, and two bicycles. We staff our four stations with approximately 65 employees and provide 24/7 365 coverage to our service area and respond to around 14,000 emergency and non-emergency details each year.
Check out the images below for a glimpse of our history! Click on the images for more information.
