Campbell Co., VA - Campbell County EMS officials are pledging to make their system more reliable, after the death of a Rustburg woman. Brenda Shortridge's family members called 911 early Monday when they found her unresponsive. It took 40 minutes for a rescue crew to get there. Shortridge died last night.

It would be hard for anyone, even a doctor, to tell whether the ambulance getting there sooner would have saved her life. We're told she had some sort of brain hemorrhage. But leaders say, whatever the case, they want to be there more quickly.

"It's an unfortunate situation and one we certainly wish did not happen. Our thoughts are with the family," Jason Stroud with Campbell County EMS said.

Officials are also thinking about improving their system. A review of all EMS operations with the help of a Northern Virginia company has been in the works.

Campbell County Administrator David Laurrell said, "This is not an issue of people not being available. It's an issue of the demand on the system is growing beyond what the availability is."

A problem many counties have long been facing. That's why Campbell may add more paid workers and they're already recruiting more volunteers like David Johnson. He was the first to arrive at Brenda Shortridge's house, after standby volunteers and the paid crew couldn't respond.

EMS Worker David Johnson said, "I was just kinda moving around. Just recently got up, was checking some e-mail and heard the tones for an all county page."

His presence was welcome relief for desperate family members. Even with the difficulties, Johnson says volunteers are essential for the system to work.

“It's a place for us to give back to our own community. Without volunteers it would be difficult to get everything covered," Johnson said.

"Our volunteers do have jobs and they have to make a living, and they have family obligations," Stroud said.

But that doesn't mean they take their obligation to the county any less seriously. They want to respond quickly every time. "And we are doing everything that we can to go ahead and identify what the best approach is," Laurrell said.

Officials say another problem they're facing is more 911 calls, and many of them aren't emergencies. Campbell County's volunteer recruitment and retention drive is going on right now. You can call 434-332-9889 for information.

We're told Brenda Shortridge worked for the Campbell County School System for 38 years- ever since she got out of school herself.
She was a secretary to the assistant superintendent. Superintendent Dr. George Nolley tells us Shortridge was a wonderful person, an asset to the district, and that she will be greatly missed.

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