Cleveland County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Director Joe Lord will be retiring on Mar. 31 after 27 years. After living in Milwaukee, Cleveland and Detroit, Lord moved to Cleveland County, NC in 1992 thanks to his wife. She had been hired by Cleveland Regional Medical Center to manage their emergency room. Soon after, Lord was hired as Cleveland County’s EMS Director. In 1992, the County’s EMS Department consisted of 25 employees. Fast forward 27 years to 2019, and the County’s EMS Department has 72 full-time employees, plus 30 to 40 part-time employees.
“Joe Lord has been instrumental in growing Cleveland County’s ability to provide emergency medical and transport services when the need is most critical,” said Susan Allen, County Commission Chair. “He, and all of the County’s first responders, literally save lives every day and we could not be more proud of the work that they do,” Allen added.
During Lord’s tenure as EMS Director, he has managed the evolution of emergency medical service delivery. Examples include:
- Cleveland County was one of the first county EMS departments in the state to have all emergency medical services personnel trained as critical care paramedics.
- Cleveland County’s EMS personnel, training and equipment continue to be top-notch and state-of-the-art
- Cleveland County’s EMS department has received multiple grants that have paid for EMS personnel to be trained in trench rescues, collapsed structures, heavy rescues, and State Medical Assistance Teams to work in a mobile hospital during a disaster, to provide medical care in a temporary medical shelter, or to work in a decontamination unit.
Under Lord’s leadership, Cleveland County EMS crews have provided emergency medical services and personnel for major events, natural disasters and regional search and rescues, including:
- U.S. Olympics in Atlanta
- Hurricane Katrina disaster response in Waveland, MS
- Hurricane Florence disaster response in South Carolina
- Democratic National Convention in Charlotte
- World Equestrian Games in Tryon, NC
- Kilauea Volcano eruption in Hawaii
- The search for six-year-old Maddox Ritch in Gastonia, NC
In addition to managing Cleveland County EMS, Lord teaches all-hazard, incident management classes to first responders, fire departments and police officers across the state, and hosts active shooter training for local police and Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) agents.
Lord has also been actively involved in the North Carolina Association of EMS Administrators serving as chair, vice chair, president and past president.
When asked what he is most proud of, Lord immediately said, “the ability to serve the citizens of Cleveland County.” According to Lord, he will miss the fellowship that he has with the community, EMS personnel, colleagues and hospital staff the most.
“We will miss Joe’s dedication to his work, his EMS staff and his profession,” said Commissioner Johnny Hutchins, “that commitment has been evident in all that he has done for the County in the past 27 years,” Hutchins added. “We appreciate him so much,”
According to Cleveland County Manager Brian Epley, Ryan Wilmoth of Statesville, NC has been hired as Cleveland County County’s new Director of Emergency Medical Services. He began work on Feb. 18 and will work with Lord to facilitate a smooth transition.