First responders in Laguna Vista help provide medical services to the community that doesn't have its own EMS service.

Laguna Vista first responders partner with Los Fresnos EMS, and the city created a small medical response team to get help faster. 

The city previously worked with a nearby volunteer fire department to respond to calls.

“If there wasn't a volunteer that was able to respond to the call, they just had to wait till the ambulance got here — which was still really great service,” Laguna Vista City Manager Rendie Gonzales said. “It wasn't bad, but it's very scary."

Gonzales said the city has a team that consists of a medical director, three EMTs and one paramedic. 

The city wants to add three more paramedics to the group so the team can respond faster, and provide medical care until an ambulance arrives if needed.

The program costs the city around $390,000.

Gonzales said the city currently doesn’t have the call volume to support a full EMS program that would involve having their own ambulance. 

Now the city is focusing on building their EMS team.

“That way when the community builds out enough, and if there is the call volume and the tax space to support an ambulance, we already have the staff going,” Gonzales said.

The city says they're working towards having a team of four paramedics by the end of 2026.

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