Cherokee County
Fire & Emergency Services
Fire & Emergency Services
For more than 20 years, Dr. Jill Mabley has dedicated her time to the growth and success of Emergency Services for Cherokee County. Her name will forever live on at the Cherokee County Fire & Emergency Services (CCFES) Training Center, as the EMS Wing has been dedicated as the Jill Ann Mabley, M.D., FACEP EMS Wing.
Many of those in attendance at the June 2 dedication ceremony represented the past, present, and future of CCFES, all of whom have been impacted at some level by Mabley, affectionately known as “Doc.”
“With compassion as your guiding light and your expertise as your compass, you have led the charge in shaping the future of EMS in our community. Through your dedication, you have served as an inspiration to those who have the privilege to know you,” CCFES EMS Chief Nate Sullivan said, addressing Mabley during the dedication ceremony. “Throughout your career, you have continuously pushed the boundaries of what’s possible in EMS. Your tireless efforts have made a profound effect on our community, this fire department, Region 1, and all of EMS in Georgia.”
Mabley thanked those who attended, paying special recognition to the Chiefs with whom she worked along the way: Chief Darryl Puckett, Chief Raymond Gunnin, and Chief Tim Prather. She told stories of her years with the department, the good and the bad, and how her heart was always in it for the service to Cherokee County and the fire service.
“I happened to be in the right place at the right time,” she said of how she began with CCFES. “My parents always emphasized that service was to be a big part of my life. The academic achievements they were OK with, but the service was important. I know that my father is looking down and is happy for me.”
She joined Cherokee County in 2000, a time when the fire department was continuing its transition from a volunteer model to a career organization and when ambulance transports were handled by a third-party vendor.
An invitation to join a safety committee turned into more than two decades of training personnel, developing policy, building programs and being a source for well-researched advice for those who needed it.
CCFES experienced great change in the years Mabley volunteered her time as medical director. Chairman Harry Johnston spoke of the transition from all-volunteer to a paid service and a time when the county canceled a contract for private ambulance service that was not working in the way it was expected. That service stopped on a Friday, and by Monday, the EMS team had scoured the country to find ambulances and had them in service with the few paramedics on staff at the time. There were few protocols at the time – only four boxes to check – and now, because of Doc, CCFES is equipped with protocols for everything.
“All of our firefighters in this community are trained to the Advanced EMT level and many are trained as paramedics. Dr. Mabley spent hundreds of hours working in the field alongside of our first responders to ensure the protocols she put in place were actually being practiced in providing the best outcome for our patients,” said Fire Chief Eddie Robinson. “We have standing orders as a result of Dr. Mabley’s efforts that allow our personnel to literally practice medicine upside down in a roadside ditch at 3 a.m. in pouring rain with transmission fluid dripping on their forehead and a pin light in their mouth. I did not make that up. I’ve seen our people in action on that call. … They are saving people’s lives and it’s all because of Dr. Mabley.”
In her years as medical director for CCFES, Mabley, at 57 years old, became the first (and only at the time) medical director to earn firefighter certification in the state of Georgia. She was treated just like every other student. She stayed in the dorm, completed every task, and was challenged by her instructors along the way.
“She earned a National Professional Qualification as a firefighter and she earned state certification as a firefighter in the state of Georgia,” Robinson said, adding Mabley also was responsible for implementing the Narcan program with law enforcement, allowing public safety to better combat the opioid epidemic and save lives.
Mabley was honored earlier this year at the 2023 Northwest Georgia – Region 1 EMS Awards Banquet with the Dr. Paul Nassour Lifetime Achievement Award.
Although she retired in 2022 from CCFES, she’s using her time to learn Russian, chess and assist local fire departments with their EMS training needs.