“Community and family”

Fort Hill – Graham County has welcomed its new EMS Director, filling a crucial vacancy after an interim period lasting more than two weeks. 

Phillip Boyle started as the county’s new EMS director Monday, after being hired on Oct. 6. Boyle has been in EMS since 2004, and has worked in various EMS and firefighting capacities in Alaska, California, Oregon and North Dakota. Most recently, Boyle worked as an emergency preparedness coordinator for the S.C. Emergency Management Division. He replaces former Graham County EMS Director Larry Hembree, who stepped down Sept. 30 after announcing his resignation in August. 

Boyle is a native of Homer, Alaska. 

“I’ve just kind of fallen in love with Robbinsville, and look forward to everything I can bring in to help us grow and develop into a status that can benefit the county,” Boyle said. 

Boyle said one of his main goals was expanding the community paramedic program, using some EMS personnel in public health and preventative care roles. 

“I wasn’t aware of just how much goes on in Robbinsville from the standpoint of EMS calls and things like that, so one of the first things I plan on doing is bringing us up to the capability to handle a lot of the different calls that we’re seeing and their severity, especially since we don’t have local healthcare” Boyle said. 

He also spoke to a need to develop a sense of “community and family” within the department.

“I think that’s important, especially in a small-town setting,” Boyle said.

Boyle admitted he was drawn to Robbinsville after growing up in a small town himself.

“It is almost identical to Alaska, minus the ocean right there,” Boyle said. Boyle holds an associate of science in emergency medical technology from College of the Siskyous in Weed, Calif, as well as bachelor’s and master’s degrees in emergency management from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. 

“I couldn’t imagine working anyplace else and having the draw that this place has,” Boyle said.