Harford County Department of Emergency Services
Medical students and emergency medicine residents are welcome to ride along with Harford County EMS and their front-line ALS
medic units.
Harford EMS is part of the Harford County Department of Emergency Services, under Harford County Government, and works
with the Harford County Volunteer Fire & EMS Association, Harford County Sheriff’s Office, Maryland State Police and three
municipal police agencies.
The EMS division fully staffs 17 EMS units, mostly in an ALS/BLS configuration. Under the EMS division chief are two battalion
chiefs and eight captains, who function as field supervisors, in addition to 150 paramedics and EMTs.
EMS captains carry whole blood for field transfusions and are in the process of RSI credentialling. Four volunteer flight medics
are already credentialled in RSI. Some paramedics are also credentialled in pre-hospital ultrasound and many of the state’s
optional supplemental protocols are active in Harford, including IV nitroglycerin.
Medic units respond to more than 35,000 requests for EMS service a year and transport patients primarily to one of the two
local emergency departments in Harford: Upper Chesapeake Medical Center Aberdeen, a freestanding ED, or Upper Chesapeake
Medical Center Bel Air, a full-service community hospital. Other transport destinations include Franklin Square Hospital in eastern
Baltimore County (an endovascular capable stroke center) and Johns Hopkins Bayview (a level 2 trauma center) and the Shock
Trauma Center (primary adult resource center for trauma), both in Baltimore City.
In addition to the EMS division, Harford DES also staffs a special operations division to provide technical rescue and hazmat
response, as well as training, communications, emergency management, tech services and administrative divisions. These are
based in Forest Hill, Maryland, at the Emergency Operations Center.
Email EMS Chief Ledford, cfledford@harfordpublicsafety.org, to arrange a ride-along (please copy EMS Medical Director
Dr. Douglas Sward, dsward@harfordpublicsafety.org). A liability waiver will need to be signed prior to any ride-along
Ride-along Guidelines
University of Maryland Medical Center residents and medical students will be assigned to ride-alongs during the emergency
medical services rotation at the University of Maryland Medical Center. Residents and medical students will report to Harford
County Department of Emergency Services main building, 2220 Ady Road in Forest Hill. All ride-alongs are subject to staffing
and unit availability.
Reporting times are typically at 0600 or 1800 hours.
The EMS captain on duty has the authority to reassign or relocate residents and students to an available unit. Please call the
EMS battalion chief or on-duty captain if changes are necessary to the ride-along schedule.
A waiver of liability must be completed two weeks before your ride-along. Please email it to Harford County EMS Division
Chief Caitlin Ledford and Harford County Medical Director Dr. Douglas Sward.
Ride-along Attire
Scrubs or pants/shirt with identifying UMMC logo are acceptable EMS attire. Be prepared to encounter all types of weather –
rain, wind, snow, cold, heat, etc. Residents and medical students should wear closed-toed shoes (boots preferred) and bring
a stethoscope and their official, UMMC-issued identification.
Jackets and lab coats are not recommended for the EMS rotation. Personal protective equipment, such as gloves/masks,
is available on departmental ambulances.
Food
Harford County Emergency Services medic units are frequently engaged in response-oriented tasks and food is often purchased
"to-go." Residents and students are encouraged to bring cash to cover food associated expenses or bring their own meals with them,
especially if they have dietary restrictions.
Questions?
Contact the Harford County Department of Emergency Services, 410-638-4900, with additional questions or concerns.
Dr. Douglas Sward, Medical Director
Caitlin Ledford, Chief, EMS Division