Highland County Department of EMS

08/20/2026

What a great addition to our community! We love seeing this beautiful new mural welcoming everyone as they come into town from the south. 🎨🏡

08/12/2026

🎒 It’s almost time for school! 🚌

Highland County students will head back to school on August 18th! As everyone gets ready for another school year, we wanted to share a few simple back-to-school safety tips to help keep everyone safe.

08/06/2026

We’d like to congratulate Hance Thurston on officially becoming a Nationally Registered Paramedic! 👏

This is one of the biggest accomplishments in EMS, and we couldn’t be more proud of you. Congratulations, Hance!

08/03/2026

🚨 Last week, Highland emergency crews responded to a medical emergency where it was quickly determined the patient would need air medical transport for definitive care. Thank you to McDowell Volunteer Fire Department for the LZ. After performing CPR, our crew was able to regain the patient’s pulse before they were flown by PHI Air Medical Shenandoah Valley - AirCare 5 for further care. We’re happy to share that, as of the latest update, the patient is stable and doing well. We’re incredibly proud of everyone involved and thankful for the teamwork that helped give this patient a second chance. Thank you to Highland County Volunteer Rescue Squad for assisting on the call!

Calls like this are a great reminder of why knowing CPR is so important, especially here in our rural community where help can be farther away.

If you’ve ever wanted to learn CPR, now’s the perfect opportunity! Bolar Volunteer Rescue Squad is hosting a FREE CPR class on Wednesday, August 5, 2026, at 6:00 PM at the Bolar Fire Department.

08/01/2026

Sometimes an early start has its rewards. We caught this beautiful sunrise on the way back to town this Saturday morning. Gotta love Highland! 🌄

07/31/2026

🚴 The annual Mountain Mama Road Bike Challenge is tomorrow! If you’re out driving, please use extra caution, be patient, and share the road. Stay safe!

The Mountain Mama Road Bike Challenge is scheduled to take place annually on the first Saturday in August in beautiful Highland County, Virginia.

The yearly event features 2 States, 3 Counties, 9 mountains, 105 miles, and over 10,000 feet of climb.

It happens this Saturday on August 1st!

https://highlandcountyrecreation.org/mountain-mama-road-bike-challenge.html

Highland County Recreation Commission

07/21/2026

Ever wonder what's inside an ambulance? It's a lot more than just a stretcher. Every ambulance is packed with equipment that allows us to begin treating patients long before they get to the hospital. 🚑

In this photo you'll see things like:
• A powered stretcher
• A stair chair
• Cardiac monitor/defibrillator
• Oxygen and airway equipment
• Trauma bags and bleeding control supplies
• Splints and patient moving equipment
• IV supplies and medications
• Suction unit
• Pediatric and adult emergency equipment
• Communication devices
• And plenty of other tools we use every day

Just the equipment and supplies you see here are worth well over $200,000, and when you add the ambulance itself, you're looking at an investment of more than $500,000.

Hopefully you never need any of it-but if you do, we're ready. 🚨

07/19/2026

Thank you to Carilion Life-Guard for the assistance today. We’d also like to thank the McDowell Volunteer Fire Department for setting up the landing zone, our dispatchers, and a member of the Highland County Volunteer Rescue Squad for driving our crew to the LZ. We’re thankful to work alongside agencies that are always ready to help. 🚑🚁

07/08/2026

Yesterday at 20:01, Highland County emergency crews were dispatched to a motor vehicle crash on the northern end of the county. Upon arrival, crews found a head-on collision and quickly determined that one patient had sustained critical injuries.

We would like to thank the Highland County Vol. Fire Dept. for their assistance with extricating the patient. With no air medical helicopters available, we began an emergency transport toward Augusta Health. While traveling over Shenandoah Mountain, we established contact with UVA Medcom and coordinated a rendezvous with UVA Pegasus Ground in Fishersville. The patient was transferred to the Pegasus crew and transported directly to UVA Health for definitive care.

At 20:13, we were dispatched to a second call that would require Advanced Life Support. We would like to thank the Highland County Volunteer Rescue Squad for responding with a unit to the second call and ALS was provided by the HCEMS Chief. By the end of the evening, both ambulances found themselves at the hospital at the same time.

We also extend our appreciation to the Highland County Sheriff’s Office , our dispatchers, UVA Medcom, Virginia State Police, Augusta County ECC, B-Shift, and everyone else who played a role throughout the evening.

07/07/2026

2026 2nd Quarter EMS Statistics 🚨🚑

During the second quarter of 2026, we responded to 90 calls for service, including 61 patient transports, 10 refusals, and 19 miscellaneous or other incidents.

We’re incredibly proud of our staff for their dedication to providing high-quality emergency medical care across rural Virginia every day. We’d also like to extend a thank you to our volunteer partners for the support they provide to our daily operations. Teamwork makes the dream work! 🤝