NEWS

IMPACT: BOWIE MEMORIAL HOSPITAL ‘Golden Hour’ will deteriorate when patients must travel further for care

Published

11 years ago

07/22/2015

Editor’s note: IMPACT is an ongoing series exploring the consequences the possible closure of Bowie Memorial Hospital could mean for the community and county.

This is part two of a story on the Bowie Ambulance Service. It focuses on the medical services provided by the EMTs and how time plays a vital role in that care. Without a local hospital available to send a patient, the “golden hour” for a trauma event could be jeopardized.

Doctors often call the first hour after a traumatic or medical event as the “golden hour,” the time where the event can be treated with the most positive results.

Dr. Surinder Aujla has served as medical director for Bowie Ambulance Service since 1985, when he and a few others organized a training schedule for the service moving it from “load-and-run” to more sophisticated care.

“The ambulance service was upgraded and is now state-of-the-art. They treat and stabilize in the field, which has resulted in an increased quality of care and the number of lives being saved,” said the director.

The “golden hour” term comes from the military battlefield, where it was determined those stabilized within one hour had a much better outcome.

Aujla said nothing has changed. Read the full news feature in the mid-week News.

Pictured above: Last May, Bowie ambulance personnel rushed an injured city worker to an ambulance and then a helicopter after he was crushed while working inside a fiberglass tank. Firefighters worked diligently to extricate the man from inside the tank, while trying to care for his medical needs as much as possible. (Photo by Barbara Green)

COUNTY LIFE

Montague County sees 56.1% voter turnout in midterms

Published

9 minutes ago

11/05/2026

bowienews

Montague County voters joined the rest of the state with a tremendous turnout in Tuesday’s elections.
The elections administration office reported with all 10 precincts counted a turnout of 56.01% or 8,732 casting ballots. There are 15,591 registered voters in the county.
While there were no county contested races, there were two city council and two school board elections.
The Bowie City Council has three places on the ballot. Laura Sproles, incumbent, was not challenged for her place two.
Levi Bailey won the precinct one seat with 925 votes. Valerie Thomerson received 328 votes.
In precinct three, Terry Gunter won with 1,027 votes and Glenda Durham was second with 383

Read the full story in the Thursday Bowie News.

NEWS

Nocona teen dies after apolice chase

Published

16 minutes ago

11/05/2026

bowienews

A 15-year-old Nocona boy was killed in a crash following a law enforcement pursuit just after midnight on Nov. 1.
Sgt. Aaron Brandle, public information officer with the Montague County Sheriff’s office, said the crash occurred on Nov. 1 at around 12:21 a.m.
The vehicle in the pursuit crashed in the 3600 block of Cardwell Road in Montague County. The juvenile was the sole occupant of the vehicle and was ejected as a result of the crash.
The release states responding law enforcement personnel immediately initiated life-saving measures at the scene. The juvenile was subsequently transported to Nocona General Hospital, where despite continued life-saving efforts, he was pronounced deceased.

While the authorities have not publicly identified the deceased, several community efforts have been launched to assist the family of AR “Mando” Alcantar, a sophomore at Nocona High School. Students and staff also have taken steps to remember the popular young man.

A Gofundme account also has been sent up under the name Small Town, Big Hearts – Help support the Alcantar Family. It was organized by Kelsey Cabrera.

(Top photo – AR “Mando” Alcantar)

Read the full report in the Thursday Bowie News.

The Bowie News staff apologizes for the error in spelling of the the young man’ s name in the print edition. It stated “Mondo” and that was incorrect. We did not find the error until after press time.