ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. — With annual call volumes surpassing 55,000 and continuing to rise, St. Charles County Ambulance District (SCCAD) is making major investments to maintain fast response times and high-quality care for patients.
In 2025, the district will allocate $10 million toward planned capital improvements aimed at enhancing emergency medical services.
One of the key projects is a new ambulance station in O’Fallon, which will soon break ground. Once completed, it will be the largest station in SCCAD’s 592-square-mile service area, the ambulance district said in a press release. In addition to housing a paramedic crew, the facility may also serve as a base for platoon leaders and specialized equipment like utility terrain vehicles and generators.
“The new station in Winghaven will be an important addition to our deployment strategy,” SCCAD Chief Kelly Cope said. “A combination of factors leads to high call volume in this area; having an additional unit operating from this highly advantageous position is expected to spread call volume more evenly and reduce response times.”
To enhance care for patients experiencing cardiac emergencies, SCCAD is rolling out 77 new Lifepak 35 cardiac monitors. These advanced devices offer a wide range of functions to support paramedics in treating conditions such as chest pain, heart attacks and cardiac arrest.
The new monitors replace the district’s previous devices, which had reached the end of their manufacturer-recommended lifespan after more than a decade in use. The total investment for the Lifepak 35 units was $5.2 million. Following training sessions in May, the monitors will be deployed across all SCCAD units.
The land acquisition, station construction and cardiac monitor purchases were all funded through Proposition Ambulance — a $70 million general obligation bond approved by voters in August 2018. Additional capital projects planned for 2025 under this bond include the purchase of several new advanced life support ambulances, remounting of ambulance chassis and the replacement of command staff vehicles.
