At its regular meeting held on Friday, September 6, 2024, the Board of Commissioners of Chatham County, appointed Lydia McCrary to serve on the Region 9 EMS Advisory Council. McCrary is the Chatham County Fire Department Medical Services Director and spearheads the department’s Behavioral Health Unit.

The Region 9 Advisory Council’s purpose is to coordinate, facilitate, and maintain excellence in emergency medical services in Region 9. Challenges and opportunities of EMS within this region are discussed as a collaborative to include training, recruitment & retention, best practice, emergency preparedness, as well as state and national best practices.

Fire, medical, first response and EMS agencies in Region 9 include: Counties: Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Brantley, Bryan, Bulloch, Camden, Candler, Charlton, Chatham, Clinch, Coffee, Effingham, Evans, Glynn, Jeff Davis, Liberty, Long, McIntosh, Pierce, Tattnall, Toombs, Ware, and Wayne.