About EMS

San Juan Island EMS is the county tax supported Emergency Medical Service providing emergency 9-1-1 advanced life support rescue and transport to the residents and visitors of San Juan Island, the Town of Friday Harbor, and the outer islands of Brown, Henry, Pearl, Speiden, Johns, and Stuart.  Through mutual aid contract with the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office we also respond to calls on the waterways and other non-ferry served islands of the county.  SJIEMS is operated under the San Juan County Public Hospital District. You may contact the Hospital Commissioners at that link.

Our department operates 3 Mobile Intensive Care Units (MICU’s), and 4 paramedic first-responder vehicles. Two of our MICUs are housed at 540 Spring Street in the Town of Friday Harbor and one is located at Roche Harbor on the north end of the island. Our paramedic responders and over 30 volunteer EMTs are located throughout the island.

Depending on weather and availability, patients can be flown from the islands aboard a helicopter from Airlift Northwest, on fixed wing flight with Island Air Ambulance or taken via water aboard the Sheriff’s boat or on the Washington State Ferry. In extreme circumstances, patients will be transported by US Coast Guard or Navy.

We seek affiliations and associations with regional, national, and international organizations and agencies to enhance our local response.

Non-Emergency Transport

We do have limited capability to provide some physician approved, non-emergency transportation to our District residents to and from the mainland and here on island as well.

If you are non-ambulatory, bedridden, or require oxygen or medical attendants, you may qualify. Contact your on-island physician to access this service. Medicare will usually not pay for these transports. We'll work with you to help pay this bill.

EMS Apparatus

M37

M-37 Paramedic Quick Response Vehicle

M-37 is our newest paramedic quick response vehicle. This vehicle was placed in service in 2007.

Operated usually by Paramedic Weyshawn Koons, it is outfitted with cardiac monitoring, defibrillation capability, emergency airway equipment and trauma stabilizing equipment. It allows our paramedic to quickly arrive on scene to provide stabilization while the ambulance is en route.

M36

M-36 Paramedic Quick Response Vehicle

M-36 is a paramedic quick response vehicle. This vehicle was placed in service in 2005.

Operated usually by Paramedic Jim Ricks, it is outfitted with cardiac monitoring, defibrillation capability, emergency airway equipment and trauma stabilizing equipment. It allows our paramedic to quickly arrive on scene to provide stabilization while the ambulance is en route.

AID32

AID 32 - Ambulance

Aid 32 is our primary critical care ambulance housed at 540 Spring Street in the Town of Friday Harbor. Manufactured by Braun Northwest in 1997, this unit serves as our first response critical care ambulance and backup 911 ambulance.

N707LS Cesna 206

N707LS - Cessna 206

N707LS is a Cessna 206 and was the first small aircraft licensed for Air Ambulance service by the FAA in the continental United States. This airplane is capable of landing at more than 14 airfields serving virtually all of the major islands in San Juan County.

The aircraft is equipped to accommodate stretcher-bound patients and the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel who accompany them.

OPS34

OPS-34 Special Operations Truck

This 2001 Ford F-150 has been specially retrofitted for cross field rescue, marine and flight operations.