Business is booming for Warren County’s ambulance service. 

EMS director Preston Denney provided the county Safety Committee with a year-in-review summary of calls the department responded to during 2019 and the state of the morgue. 

“This is the summary of our calls for the year,” said Denney. “I also included a total over the last three years.”

In 2017, the department went out on 7,336 calls, 7,487 in 2018, and 7,647 in 2019. 

“It’s continually going up by about 150 a year,” said Commissioner Ron Lee. 

Preston agreed, “We are going up by at least 150 a year. Our hospital transfers were 1,409 last year (2018) and they were 1,586 this year (2019). They’re steadily climbing too by about 150 or 160 a year.”

Warren County Temporary Morgue received 41 intakes.

“We had two with unclaimed bodies with no families, or nobody we could locate,” said Denney. 

The morgue also housed four bodies for other agencies in surrounding counties which are not added to the total of intakes. 

Per county policy, unclaimed bodies are cremated at county taxpayer expense.

“So, what do you do with unclaimed bodies? Just cremate them, put them in a box and put them on a shelf?” asked Commissioner Randy England. 

Preston replied, “Yes.”

“That’s sad,” said Commissioner Christy Ross. 

Individuals proven to be veterans are cremated and interred at Middle Tennessee Veterans Cemetery in Nashville.