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)