Stories And Inspiration

It’s a unique relationship. Piedmont Triad Ambulance and Rescue, Inc. (PTAR) has long been a supporter of GO FAR, dating back to its early days. Trained Emergency Medical Technician Intermediates work at fall and spring GO FAR events. Board members and other staff attend the races. The nonprofit has even contributed funds and donated office space for GO FAR to use for the past six years.

Making time to assist an organization whose goal is to teach kids to stay healthy and prevent childhood obesity, that’s important to PTAR staff members who see what happens when a healthy lifestyle isn’t maintained. It’s a stark contrast from their daily calls.

When PTAR transports a patient, it’s often due to ill health. They specialize in convalescent and bariatric patients, transporting those weighing more than 500 pounds. They also see non-emergency patients who’ve broken a limb or make calls to check blood pressure.

Seeing GO FAR kids running their first 5K is refreshing, according to PTAR Chief Paula Lineberry. Though her staff covers other races throughout the year, “[GO FAR] is unique in that it involves the kids and getting them healthy at an early age,” she said.

GO FAR Founder Robin Lindsay made a connection with PTAR through Gart Evans, president of the PTAR board of directors, back in 2003 when she was just forming the program. PTAR has been a vital backer ever since. She and Evans worked at High Point University together. Many of the first coaches were university students.

Evans said it’s a natural fit for a health-serving agency like PTAR to work hand in hand with GO FAR to help keep kids healthy.

“It’s an area where we saw we could help our friend [Robin] make a difference,” Lineberry said. “The majority of our business is people of old age, people who have biggie-sized it for years. [Robin] is passionate about keeping kids healthy from the start.”

Being a nonprofit makes the emergency dispatch service different from most ambulance services, according to Lineberry, chief since 1999. It began as a volunteer citizen police patrol that expanded in 1971 into a volunteer ambulance service. It has grown to a fleet of 17 ambulances and 80 EMT Intermediates who serve three counties. As a back-up service for Guilford County, PTAR specializes in non-emergency calls, some emergencies if they are closer than the paramedics, and transporting patients to appointments, for hospital discharges, long-distance transports, and homebound patients.

Guilford, Randolph, and Davidson counties all contract with PTAR to provide secondary services. Many counties don’t have secondary services, Lineberry said. This back-up service keeps the emergency paramedics available for more calls.

PTAR is committed to the communities it serves, donating services whenever possible. Lineberry said that PTAR tries to accommodate any nonprofit that approaches them to cover an event, depending on availability. “We donate time and equipment to send them out and cover these events during times of risk,” she said.

At GO FAR events, their ambulance is always at the ready, but Lineberry says the worst they’ve seen are skinned knees and some asthma attacks.

Evans has been at nearly every GO FAR race and seen the transformation from a handful of students on the HPU campus to the thousands who come out now.

“The whole concept of GO FAR is that curriculum, that total package: the nutrition, the involvement with a coach, the running buddies,” Evans said. “It’s just a great concept.”

PTAR’s commitment to GO FAR doesn’t waver. “It’s an investment in our future,” Evans said. “It’s an investment in our communities. It’s an investment in these children. It’s an investment in better things ahead.”