By Wes Bowers
Lodi News-Sentinel
LODI, Calif. 鈥 American Medical Response has served San Joaquin County for more than 20 years, deploying personnel out of its Stockton office, 13 miles from a Lodi emergency.
But on Wednesday, the organization officially opened the doors to its second station in the county, located at 200 N. Beckman Road in Lodi.
The new station will provide faster response times to the north part of the county, including Acampo, Clements Thornton, and Lockeford.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been looking for a suitable location for about two years,鈥 AMR regional director Brian Hajik said. 鈥淲hat we鈥檙e looking for is really good access to shorten response times, and also have a footprint that will allow us to grow as the community is evolving throughout the next couple of years as well.鈥
The 2,000-square-foot building sits on about an acre of land near the Beckman and Victor road intersections, giving paramedics easy routes to the east, west, north and south regions of the Lodi area.
Currently, four ambulances have been assigned to the station, but Hajik said he hopes to have more in the future.
The property also allows for an expansion of the building should more crews work out of the Lodi station.
Inside the building are crew lounges, storage areas for supplies, radios and medical narcotics such as morphine and fentanyl, a small office area and space for training exercises. Hajik said AMR decided to open a station in Lodi because the city鈥檚 footprint and population was growing over the years.
With the additions of the Reynolds Ranch and Rose Gate neighborhoods, as well as the housing developments in the southwestern part of the city, Hajik said it made sense to locate a station in Lodi .
Hajik said AMR responds to about 80,000 calls a year throughout the county, of which 12,000 are in the Lodi area. That comes out to about 32 calls a day, he said.
The station will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and in the event units are overwhelmed, AMR will send ambulances from the Stockton station to assist with emergencies.
鈥淲e鈥檙e really excited,鈥 Lodi Fire Department deputy chief Tim Ortegel said. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e been trying to get this done for about two years, and I know, personally, that this is going to be a tremendous benefit to Lodi itself but also the greater northern part of the county. It鈥檒l help reduce response times undoubtedly, and it will help save lives.鈥
While ambulances have been dispatched out of the station for about a month, Hajik said Wednesday鈥檚 event was to give tours of the facility to the public and answer any questions they might have about AMR鈥檚 service.
Lodi Mayor Cameron Bregman was on hand to congratulate the company for opening the new station.
鈥淭he most important services are the ones that help protect and save lives,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t truly does take a special kind of person to do what you do on a regular basis. My brother is a firefighter, and hearing stories from him ... I don鈥檛 know what you guys go through on a regular basis, but it takes a toll on your physical and mental health. We do not take your service lightly here in Lodi .鈥
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