Written by Sam Garrett
During the June 17 Watauga County Board of Commissioners meeting, commissioners unanimously voted to purchase Watauga Medics, Inc. The purchase price of $1.7 million includes a fleet of nine ambulances along with one station located in Boone. Since that meeting, Watauga County also acquired Station 2. Last Monday, the official transition took place at noon.
Historically, Watauga Medics responded to around 6,600 calls per year. Watauga County took its first call at 12:04 p.m. on December 15. Base 3 was paged to respond to an outdoor fall in the Zionville area.
Months ago, Watauga County hired Juan Bowen to serve as the EMS Chief. Chief Bowen comes to Watauga from Wilkes County. In Wilkes, he served as a lieutenant and a field training officer. He also has experience as a PRN flight paramedic with Mission Hospital in Asheville.
Bowen does not see major public-facing changes taking place following the service transition to Watauga County.
“The mandate from the Board of Commissioners has been clear,” Bowen said. “We will build on the legacy of WMI and set a standard of excellence across every area of emergency services.”
According to EMS Director Will Holt, “Watauga Medics served the High Country well for a very long time.”
The changes that the public may notice are primarily vehicle aesthetics and some new staff. New ambulances have arrived so, during a short transition period, citizens will see both white and blue Watauga Medics ambulances along with red Watauga County ones. Eventually, all county ambulances will have the red design.
In addition to Chief Bowen, Watauga County hired a Billing Specialist Colby Hamby who started in November, and four shift supervisors – Angela Seeley, Garrett Norris, Anthony Woodard, and Corey Greer.
Behind the scenes more changes have taken place. On day one, the county’s EMS added a shift and changed the shift rotations from 24 hours and 48 hours off to 24 hours on and 72 hours off. EMS also provides quick-response vehicles for supervisors instead of ambulances.
“Our team is reviewing current clinical protocols, policies, and procedures looking for areas where we can be aggressive in adopting best practices, such as the pre-hospital administration of blood to patients with severe bleeding,” Bowen said. “All of these moves are supported by the physicians who provide clinical oversite of our system as we look at ways to provide the most advanced prehospital care possible.”
Watauga EMS will operate out of the three existing county bases and the outpost base at Beech Mountain. A fourth county base is currently under construction off US Highway 421 on Innovation Drive and will be completed in 2026.
The county has authorized an EMS staffing level of 44 full time employees to cover the shifts, plus administrative staff. There are currently five 24-hour trucks and one 12-hour truck per shift scheduled. As a division of Emergency Services, EMS will work closely with the current 911 center, as well as existing Emergency Management.
The county is reviewing deployment models to identify locations with the highest call volumes so they can match unit availability to need while working to reduce response times throughout the county.
“None of these goals would be possible without the strong support of our elected officials, staff, and community partners,” Bowen said.
Director of Emergency Services Will Holt sees many opportunities for the county that were not available for Watauga Medics.
“We are looking at grants and funding opportunities for a community paramedicine program which has been identified as a key program in a community’s overall health,” Holt said.
There was not a complete change of staff with Monday’s transition as most staff moved from Watauga Medics to Watauga County.
According to Emergency Planner Administrative Assistant Kristi Pukansky, “Many of the staff from Watauga Medics accepted positions with the county and we look forward to them continuing to serve our community. Calls will still be handled by the same 911 staff who provide excellent service currently.”
Bowen plans to apply his knowledge to increase the program’s success.
“I am excited at the challenge and adventure that comes with the opportunity to help the county grow this service,” Bowen stated. “I do this by bringing new ideas developed during my 13 years of EMS experience to create a model of care that will serve the county well.”
Commissioner Braxton Eggers described the focus for the transition.
“The goal of a for-profit business is to make money and increase revenue,” Eggers said. “The goal of the county is life safety.”
Additional Information about Chief Bowen:
He served as an adjunct paramedic instructor at Wilkes Community College. Bowen is a graduate of Western Carolina University with a bachelor’s degree in emergency medical care. He is credentialed as a paramedic in both North and South Carolina. He holds multiple advanced certifications, including FP-C (Certified Flight Paramedic), CCEMTP (Critical Care Emergency Medical Transport Provider/Paramedic), PNCCT (Pediatric and Neonatal Critical Care Transport Provider), and is a Level 2 Paramedic Instructor.
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