The Culver Town Council approved the second and third readings on an ordinance this week authorizing an additional appropriation of funds for a new ambulance.
During the council’s last meeting, Clerk-Treasurer Karen Heim explained that the money wasn’t earmarked in the budget for the replacement of an older truck. The appropriation is in the amount of $63,932.50 which is the town’s portion of the purchase. The other half is coming from Union Township for the same amount.
The Culver Town Council held a public hearing Tuesday night to hear comments on the appropriation of funds for a new ambulance.
Clerk-Treasurer Karen Heim explained that the new ambulance is arriving soon but the money wasn’t earmarked in the budget for the replacement of an older truck. Heim said the older ambulance was overdue for replacement. It will be sold with the proceeds to be split between the town and Union Township.
The Culver Town Council Tuesday night reviewed a resolution outlining the terms of a financial plan to purchase a new ambulance for Culver Emergency Medical Services.
The lowest bid for a 2017 ambulance came from Medix in the amount of $127,865. The Union Township Trustee and the Town of Culver will equally split the cost of the vehicle. The township will provide $63,932.50 while $20,000 will come from this year’s EMS budget. The town will complete the funding with $43,932.50 from the General Fund.
The Town of Culver is moving ahead with the purchase of a new ambulance. On Tuesday, the town council voted to approve its share of the $128,000 cost. Union Township is also expected to contribute funds. Continue reading
The Town of Culver may soon be spending nearly $128,000 on a new ambulance. That’s the price Medix Specialty Vehicles of Elkhart gave the town. Continue reading
The Town of Culver is looking to purchase a new ambulance to combat a slightly aging fleet.
A committee is working to identify the best ambulance for Culver in the future. Specification options have been gathered by the group, but the changes from the current ambulance to the new purchase are pretty limited according to Tuesday night’s discussion.
The Pulaski County Council approved an additional appropriation for the EMS for the purchase of an ambulance and new cardiac monitors.
EMS Director Nikki Lowry requested $88,000 in an additional appropriation in order to pay for the new ambulance. The insurance company will be paying $82,000 to the county after totaling the ambulance that was damaged in a fire on Feb. 7 at Wagner’s Towing. The cost of a new ambulance is approximately $150,000.
The Pulaski County Commissioners received an update on the fire-damaged ambulance Monday night.
EMS Director Nikki Lowry said the repairs have been completed. She said that the ambulance is in Tipton and needs new brakes. The company that did the repairs on the ambulance quoted them $650 for new pads, rotors and all repairs needed.
Advanced Life Support service for Starke County may be only a few weeks away. That was the message the Starke County Commissioners heard last week from EMS Director Paul Mathewson.
“We found out that the application itself got accepted by the State for us to go ahead and move forward in becoming ALS certified,” said Mathewson.
Mathewson said he’s waiting on the state to come down and inspect the rigs and equipment before he can move ahead.
“We’re getting in equipment to stock the ambulance itself with all of the necessary equipment to run an ALS rig. We’re in the process of hiring on new paramedics to upgrade our service so that when the State is able to come down, we’re ready to go.”
The Pulaski County EMS is in an inconvenient situation with one truck out of commission and another being serviced because it has been belching black smoke. Nicole Lowry asked the commissioners to approve the replacement of a 6 liter diesel engine with a 7.3 liter diesel engine, with an estimated cost of $20-$32,000. Wagner’s Performance Diesel will be performing the conversion, which includes changing wiring harnesses, as well as the electrical components in the vehicle, which makes it a pretty tough job.
Starke County EMS Director, Lisa Burger, informed county officials this week that the ambulances were recently re-certified by the state. In an inspection, the trucks are gone over and the paperwork is audited.
Burger told the Commissioners that in the future the state will be doing random inspections, so their number could be drawn in six months, or maybe not again for three years.
A new ambulance may be en route to the Pulaski County EMS. Jason Rogers of the EMS told the Commissioners that they’ve been having a large amount of ambulance problems: One of their trucks has broken down and needs a new fuel injection system for the third time, another truck also needs repaired, and a third truck is unable to be used because the state no longer commissions it.
EMS Director Larry Brock presented his report to the Pulaski County Commissioners on Monday. Brock is seeking grants for repairing two ambulances and purchasing a generator for their Winamac station.
“We are seeking a ambulance grant to replace two of our ambulances , rechassis them, and a second grant for a generator for the Winamac station,” said Brock. “We have some rust damage due to a light that’s rusting in, of course because it’s on top of the ambulance it may fall through and we need to take care of that issue right away.”
Does Starke County need to upgrade it’s ambulance service by adding Advanced Life Service? This is the second in a series we have been running this week on this topic.
As we told you yesterday, Starke County is one of only two counties in the state that does not offer Advanced Life Service to its citizens. Even though officials have heard that the service can be paid for by charging higher rates with the Advanced Life Service, it is probably going to cost approximately $250,000 to secure the services of licensed paramedics.
Kris Rannells has worked as a paramedic in the past before returning home to join the family funeral home business in Hamlet. He says the Basic Ambulance Service in Starke County is doing a good job.
“They’re doing the most with what they have, but you’re going to have a better chance of saving more lives and keeping medical situations from expanding into a much more problematic situation with a paramedic than you are with an EMT,” said Rannells. “They are able to give all kinds of different medications and do different things to keep those medical problems from exasperating themselves.”
Kris Rannells was a paramedic in Indianapolis. Ted Hayes asked him about life saving with this upgraded service.
“In the amount of years that I was a paramedic, I can’t necessarily tell you how many lives saved alone, let alone how many lives I saved as a paramedic that would not have been saved as an EMT. I guarantee you, I made a difference as a paramedic. I don’t know about daily, but definitely weekly that would not have been made if I was just an EMT.”
A committee looking into upgrading to Advanced Life Service will meet next with paramedics from other small counties that already have it in place.
