After years of concern from residents, emergency response times in northern Jasper County are expected to improve with the construction of a new EMS station in Rayburn Country, thanks to a vote by Jasper County ESD 4.

The decision comes as Rayburn Country continues to be one of the fastest-growing areas in Jasper County, creating an urgent need for expanded healthcare access. Until now, emergency crews have had to respond from Jasper, leading to average response times of 17 minutes, a delay that could cost lives.

“That new EMS station should be a godsend for people out there,” said Sam Job, a longtime advocate for emergency services in the area. Job, who has served as the president of Jasper County Fire District 4 for the past 25 years and leads the ESD 4 board that approved the project, knows the need for faster care firsthand.

Job recently survived a major heart attack at his home in Rayburn, an ordeal that required immediate CPR and a one-hour transport to Beaumont due to limited local resources. “They gave me probably 30 minutes of CPR. I died three times that day,” he recalled. “Had to go all the way to Beaumont. Jasper is not equipped for anything that big, and of course, that was an hour drive.”

The new EMS station, expected to be completed by the end of the year, will significantly cut response times. Justin Cude, regional vice president of Allegiance Mobile Health, said the new location will nearly halve emergency response times. “So the response times will be a bit lower versus driving from Jasper all the way out there, loading the patient up—they’ll actually be almost cut in half by probably 10 minutes,” Cude said.

The station will be staffed with a paramedic and an EMT, provided through a partnership between Allegiance Mobile Health and Jasper EMS. This addition complements the recent healthcare expansion in the area, including the opening of the Total Care at the Lake Family Medicine Clinic by the Jasper Hospital District last year.

Job emphasized the importance of the new station in light of his own close call. “Doctor said if I’d had one worse like I’d been dead right there. So I feel like God has a hand in whatever happened that day and I think he left one thing for me to do.”

Even with the new station in place, residents will continue to dial 911 in an emergency, the key difference will be how much closer help is.