Leonard Callier, along with a team from South Texas Emergency Care Foundation (STEC), was able to significantly reduce preventable crashes after the installation of Road Safety. STEC provides ground ambulance (emergency and non-emergency) service to most of the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. Ground services are provided to Cameron County. Mutual aid is provided to Willacy County, as well as the unincorporated areas of South Texas. The organization, incorporated in January of 1979 to provide pre-hospital emergency services has grown dramatically and is now one of the largest non-profit EMS/air medical programs in the State of Texas operating with a fleet of 21 vehicles. Leonard’s dedication to finding a solution to STEC’s challenges is why he is a ZOLL Pulse Award winner.

The Journey to Reduce Preventable Losses

Over a two-year period beginning in 2014, STEC had begun to experience a series of major crashes with their ambulances. One involved a crash with a construction road grader that resulted in serious injuries to the crew members. Additionally, there was a crash involving a supervisor vehicle and several other ambulance crashes during the period.

Minor incidents (fender benders) with the ambulance also were on the rise. Leonard recognized that the chain of events was unusual and that STEC was not accustomed to having such losses. In November, STEC faced the potential non-renewal of the fleet insurance coverage, and was advised by an insurance executive to look at Road Safety as a viable solution to reduce preventable losses. Leonard and his team did their due diligence researching the solution, and ultimately landed on it.

Safety as Priority #1

Today, the organization is enjoying a zero-crash rate (other than one minor fender bender) since the devices were installed. Their Road Safety scores were one of the highest achieved for a new customer. The leadership of STEC has done an excellent job of embracing the Road Safety program and engaging all their staff, to ensure that safety is the number one priority.

Key team members include: Howard Handler, Pedro Moreno, Rene Perez and Bill Aston