SRMC Emergency Services Makes It Official; September 6 Ribbon-Cutting Culmination of Group Effort

SIDNEY--September 6 in Sidney marked the culmination of an effort by many groups and individuals that will benefit the entire Cheyenne County community for years to come. The ribbon was officially cut at SRMC - Emergency Medical Services housed at 714 Osage Street in Sidney.

Bright sunshine and a comfortable breeze were enjoyed by the attendees and the many City and County government representatives on hand. EMS Director Shannon Odiet cut the red ribbon which was extended between the mirrors on two ambulances parked outside the bay of the EMS building.

The ribbon-cutting was the final result of a team effort that started when the Morrill County Ambulance Service decided to not renew their contract with Sidney Regional Medical Center for ambulance services in Cheyenne County. Morrill County's service to SRMC started when Regional West discontinued Emergency Medical Services in some communities they were serving. Morrill's agreement to serve SRMC gave the hospital, its staff, and planning entities about a year to assemble a new EMS team for SRMC.

EMS Director Shannon Odiet had the honor of cutting the ribbon and then addressing the gathered crowd. He remarked on how quickly and efficiently the team was assembled and how the service was made in the time frame allotted.

He said, "It was a lot of work. Getting it done, from all of the Department Heads and staff at SRMC, that helped get this up and going in record time was just nothing short of amazing."

Cheyenne County Chamber of Commerce Director Joe McCarn was at the ceremony and said, "The fast turn-around of a local service combined with the personality of a local service is going to be great for the community."

"Morrill County did a great job working with us over the past year. If not for their help, we wouldn't have had enough time to put together a new EMS service in a proper way like we were able to," said Odiet. He then talked about the process of hiring all of the new EMTs and personnel, saying, "We thought it was going to be a little difficult hiring all the people we needed, but we had a lot of people come out for the service. They see what the community is trying to do and they love this community, and they want to be a part of it. We are now fully staffed. We have a total of 23 members on the EMS staff."

Odiet added, "All the entities that came together to make this happen--the County Commissioners, the City of Sidney, the Hospital Board--it will provide stability to the community and be a source of community pride."

The facility took over 911 medical calls at noon on August 31, and the facility has been up and running since then.