News & Announcements

The Oxford City Council approved $2.19 million to construct three new paramedic/ambulance stations for Oxford Paramedics, the EMS division of the City’s Health Care Authority.

The funding, which will come from the city’s annual bond issue, will also be used for minor renovations to the current central station on Hamric Drive West, including new bay doors.

According to Tom Dixon, Executive Director of Health and CEO of the Health Care Authority of the City of Oxford, the stations will serve three of the main areas of population in the city.  “One of the new stations will particularly serve the Friendship and Cider Ridge community, including Sherwood Forest and Friendship Road from Oak Hill towards Cider Ridge,” Dixon said. “This funding will also upgrade our response capabilities in the Bynum community, serving Bynum and Eastaboga. With the growth occurring in the Bynum and Eastaboga area, from 300+ new homes to significant industrial development, we had to look at present and future needs in that community. Plans also include a third station on Highway 21 near McIntosh Road, serving the backside of McIntosh Trails and the Kirby Road area, including the Buckhorn Road community."

Dixon said adding the new stations “will better disperse our resources across the entire city and take a paramedic service that is arguably the best in the state to an even higher level in terms of quality and service delivery to our citizens.”

“The whole point of doing this is to reduce response times and place our paramedics and nurses throughout the community where our citizens live,” Dixon said. “We could have used this funding to renovate or replace the Hamric Drive West station, but right now, this funding strategy better serves the citizens by placing ambulances in their neighborhoods instead of coming from a central location.”

Dixon said the call volume over the last four years has increased to over 7,500 calls for medical service compared to during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Call volume has increased significantly, and we have experienced a significant increase in public health and EMS service requests, just as is seen by our public safety agencies; it is what happens as a city grows. We are very thankful that we have leadership from the Mayor and City Council that prioritizes public health and emergency medical services, and we believe that it is that support from our elected officials that provides high-quality care, comforts people in need, and saves lives daily," Dixon said.