In 2006, SCCAD formed a unique partnership with St. Charles County Police Department to provide Tactical Emergency Medical Support (TEMS) to the St. Charles County Regional SWAT team. The TEMS Unit was initially created to provide medical support in the event of a bystander or officer injury amid a high-risk situation.
The TEMS Unit is comprised of two Physicians who are board certified in both EMS and Emergency Medicine and is comprised of nine Tactical paramedics. Team members are experts in the treatment of traumatic injuries, penetrating trauma, bleeding control, traumatic airway management and critical care level treatments. All 11 members of the TEMS Unit complete Basic SWAT School and achieve EMT-Tactical (EMT-T) certification through the Counter Narcotics and Terrorism Operational Medical Support (CONTOMS) School offered through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in cooperation with the United States Park Police. Obtaining Flight Paramedic (FP-C) or Critical Care Paramedic (CCP-C) certification is a team requirement and must be attained within one year of joining the team. The team trains regularly on rapid assessment and treatment of injuries such as gunshot wounds, blast injuries, multi-systems trauma and more.
Since the team’s formation, the partnership with the Police Department has expanded. Today, TEMS paramedics train regularly alongside their SWAT counterparts and are called upon for support during a variety of high-risk police operations including:
- Barricaded subject situation
- High-risk felony warrant arrest
- Auto theft task force
To apply for SCCAD’s TEMS Unit, paramedics must be employed by the District for a minimum of two years, attain CCP-C or FP-C licensure, and be selected by a competitive application/testing process.