• By Daren Ziglar
• Posted Wednesday, January 26, 2022

Piedmont Regional Trauma System, Inc. provides grant for Ballistic Vests for Forsyth County EMS

Piedmont Regional Trauma System, Inc. (PRTS) has provided a matching 50/50 grant for the purchase of Ballistic Vests for EMS workers in Forsyth County.

Eighty (80) vests were purchased, this covers every riding position within the agency. The increase in violence within our community and several incidents within the past year had prompted EMS officials to seek funding for this project.

Chief Daren Ziglar, of Forsyth County Emergency Services said, “the safety and welfare of our EMS providers is paramount, they are among our community’s most valuable resources”.

The Piedmont Regional Trauma System, Inc. (PRTS) is a joint venture between Novant Forsyth Medical Center and Wake Forest Baptist Health to improve the trauma care that patients receive when transported by Forsyth County Emergency Services. The purpose of PRTS is to coordinate the development and operation of an integrated multidisciplinary trauma system for communities in northwest North Carolina and surrounding areas. PRTS serves the medical needs of injured patients, achieves substantial operational efficiencies, improves the quality and timeliness of emergency care provided to severely injured patients, and reduces costly and unnecessary duplication of health care services.

County Manager Dudley Watts commented, “it is exciting to see the partnerships between our 2 large medical centers and what they do jointly for our community”.

This grant covered 50% of the $46, 363.10 purchase, Forsyth County Board of Commissioner’s approved the matching funds to complete the purchase. Training and deployment of the ballistic vests was completed by the Forsyth County EMS Training Division on Jan. 21.