6 | GEMS
not only the excellent training and mate-
rial equipping of staff, but also the inge-
nuity in the way GEMS deploys its ser-
vices. GEMS operates from four stations
strategically located following intensive
call-density studies that helped identify
areas where the greatest needs existed.
Tufts explains that GEMS personnel also
adhere to a shifting pattern; a process
wherein as soon as the “Medic-One” unit
is dispatched to a call, the second unit
will go into immediate standby, within
their respective vehicle, to be fully, effi-
ciently prepared for the second call, and
should it come, a third unit then goes into
ready mode. Its positioning and shift pat-
terns has helped generate emergency re-
sponse times of under five minutes for
more than 70% of Greenwich residents,
and below eight minutes for 96% percent
of the community. And while GEMS has
saved lives while fulfilling its mission to
provide the highest quality of pre-hospi-
tal care for the people it serves, it has also
helped save Greenwich millions of dol-
lars as an autonomous, not-for-profit who
