Gillespie-Benld Area Ambulance Service

08/03/2026

✏️Back‑to‑School Reminder✏️

As we gear up to dive into another school year, please make sure your child’s medical information is current and on file with school health staff. This helps our crews provide fast, safe, and seamless care in an emergency.

Please update:
-Recent physical info (including height & weight)
-Emergency contact(s)
-Primary care physician name & contact information
-Full medical history
-Current medication list (include meds not given at school)
-Complete list of medical allergies
-Medical insurance information (if available)
-Signed medical treatment/consent form (if your district uses one)

We're wishing all students in the Mount Olive, Gillespie, and Carlinville school districts a safe and fantastic 2026–2027 school year! If you have questions, contact your school nurse or GBAAS.

07/26/2026

⚠️ **HEAT SAFETY ALERT** ⚠️

Over the next few days, we will see consistent heat indexes exceeding 100°F with very high humidity. This combination makes it much harder for your body to cool itself — please take it seriously.

**Make sure you:**
✅ Limit outdoor activity during peak heat (typically 11am–6pm)
✅ Drink water throughout the day — don't wait until you're thirsty
✅ Check on elderly neighbors, keep an eye on young children, and provide extra care for pets
✅ NEVER leave anyone or a pet in a parked car, even briefly
✅ Wear light, loose clothing and take breaks in the shade or AC

**Know the warning signs of heat illness:**
🔴 Heavy sweating, weakness, dizziness, nausea = heat exhaustion — get to a cool place, hydrate, seek help if it doesn't improve
🔴 Confusion, hot/dry skin, no sweating, high body temp = heat stroke — **call 911 immediately**, this is a serious medical emergency

If you or someone you know is showing signs of heat-related illness, don't wait — call us. We're here for you.

Stay cool, stay hydrated, and take care of yourself. 🚑

07/20/2026

Come join our amazing team!

07/16/2026

This afternoon, while emergently transporting a patient, our unit 3L11 was involved in an accident in downtown Springfield. Another one of our units, already in Springfield, responded immediately and completed the patient transport. Both of our crew members were taken to the hospital by America Ambulance for evaluation and treatment of minor injuries. Fortunately, everyone involved — including the patient — is safe, with only minor injuries reported.

3L11 took the brunt of the impact, but as we always say: ambulances can be replaced, people can't.

A sincere thank you to America Ambulance and their crews for their quick response, and especially to their Director of Operations, Rob Bajier, for going above and beyond to support us.

07/13/2026

Exciting news! 🚑 We’ve made a major investment in our providers and the patients we serve.

Today, we deployed new Zoll Zenix cardiac monitors across our entire ambulance fleet. The Zenix brings Zoll’s latest therapeutic and diagnostic technology into one user-friendly device — helping our providers work more efficiently and continue delivering the best possible patient care and outcomes.

This upgrade reflects our ongoing commitment to equipping our team with the tools they need to do their jobs well, every single day.

07/04/2026

Wishing everyone a very happy, fun, and safe 4th! Please celebrate responsibly! 🇺🇸🎆🧨🎇

07/02/2026

06/15/2026

*Immediate Product Recall*

05/23/2026

What. A. Week.

GBAAS’ EMS Week 2026 was one for the record books!

From kicking it off by recognizing and acknowledging our staff and their career milestones with our EMS Week dinner to some of our local hospitals, individuals, and companies generously and thoughtfully showering our staff with food and gifts to proudly watching our paramedic students reach their goals of advancement to capping it all off with back-to-back nights of gripping it and ripping it and having a blast at Park North Golf Club, it has been an INCREDIBLE week of honoring and celebrating our EMS family.

We hope that our staff has genuinely felt ALL the appreciation, admiration, and love that we and the communities that we serve have for them, not just this week, but always. 💙🚑