Dare County EMS receives powered stair chair donation

Published 5:24 pm Saturday, February 1, 2025

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Dare County EMS Director Chief Jennie Collins and staff members present at EMS Station 4 in Southern Shores are, from left, Lieutenant Tim Langanke, paramedic Jen Dunfee, Deputy Chief Terence Sheehy, Collins, EMT John Dalkowski, advanced EMT Matt Cahill, EMT Joseph Kovacs and paramedic Kevin Thomas. Courtesy Dare County

Pictured are Southern Shores community residents with some of the sponsors of the donated Stryker powered stair chair. Shown, from left, are Steve Phillips, Arline Arnold, Carol Vipavetz, Vip Vipavetz, Etta Lanati, Sally Hotchkiss, David Feyrer, Steve Hotchkiss, Anne Laughner, Betsy Brown, Brewster Brown and Sandra Slates. Courtesy Dare County

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Dare County EMS has announced that the department was recently gifted with the donation of a second Stryker Xpedition powered stair chair. In total, 19 donations were received from a group of parishioners of All Saints Episcopal Church and several other residents of Southern Shores who donated the money to purchase the Stryker Xpedition chair, which will be housed at Dare County EMS Station 4 in Southern Shores.

“The chair will be a valuable asset to Dare County EMS, helping first responders to safely transport alert patients up or down both interior and exterior stairs, as needed,” noted a Dare County news release. “The stair chair is an essential piece of equipment on an ambulance due to the number of homes in Dare County that are elevated and therefore potentially have a significant number of stairs to climb during a call.”

The Stryker Xpedition stair chair has powered tracks that enable the device to do the heavy work of moving a seated patient up or down the stairs, reducing lifting injuries to first responders. Dare County EMS has traditional, non-powered stair chairs that require personnel to lift the full weight of the patient to ascend or descend the stairs.

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“Dare County EMS is incredibly grateful for the heartfelt generosity of the Southern Shores residents who made this possible,” said Dare County EMS director Chief Jennie Collins. “Our crews are so excited to put this device into action, as it will ease the physical strain placed on our first responders, protecting their backs, legs and arms while they deliver high-quality care to patients in our community. The addition of the Stryker Xpedition powered stair chair is a game-changer and a true blessing for our team and our fleet.”

In June 2024, Dare County EMS announced that the department had received its first Stryker Xpedition powered stair chair thanks to a generous donation made by Dare County resident James Spruill. That chair is currently housed at Dare County EMS Station 1 in Kill Devil Hills.

To learn more about Dare County EMS, go to DareNC.gov/EMS.

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