Our History
The Lowcountry Regional Emergency Medical Services Council, Inc. was created on February 10, 1976 as a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization by twelve counties in the Lowcountry Region pursuant to ยง 44-7-2010, et seq., 1976 South Carolina Code of Laws and the Federal Emergency Medical Services Act of 1973 to develop an emergency medical service in the Lowcountry region which provides for the arrangement of personnel, facility and equipment for the effective and coordinated delivery of health care services. The Council is governed by a Board of Directors appointed by the governing bodies of the counties that make up the Lowcountry Emergency Medical Service Region. Originally there were thirteen counties in the region and a forty-nine member Board of Directors. The Lowcountry EMS Council serves twelve counties and has a twenty-nine member Board of Directors. Each county appoints two representatives to the Board and the Board of Directors selects five at-large members from the community. In 1977 the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC), Division of EMS, initiated Emergency Medical Technician-Paramedic training through the four South Carolina Regional EMS Councils. DHEC Regulation Number 61-7 designates the Regional EMS Councils in South Carolina as institutions for Emergency Medical Technician-Intermediate and Emergency Medical Technician-Paramedic training using the U.S. Department of Transportation/National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Emergency Medical Technician-Intermediate and Paramedic National Standard Curricula. The Lowcountry Regional EMS Council began providing EMT-Paramedic education on August 16, 1977 with twenty students.
