Grant will pay portion of new ambulance

The Associated Ambulance Authority hopes to receive a brand new ambulance soon through a Local Project grant received from the Texas Department of State Health Services.

The grant, which was applied for in May, is for $35,000, the maximum amount that can be received for an ambulance.

The Ambulance Authority currently has three Basic Life Support and Mobile Intensive Care Unit Capability Ambulances, but one of these vehicles has proven to be quite troublesome.

According to Donley County Hospital District Administrator Anna Howard, a 2004 model Ford Ambulance has had multiple mechanical problems that have cost $13,000 in repairs, and it still isn’t working properly.

“The closest hospitals are about an hour away from Clarendon, and all three of our ambulances have over 100,000 miles on them, which is a lot,” Howard said.
Howard says an ambulance usually costs between $100,000 and $150,000.

The grant will cover some of that cost, but the purchase will require additional money that the Ambulance Authority has saved. The Ambulance Authority will continue to seek low interest loans and any other grants available towards a new ambulance.

Any donations towards the new ambulance are asked to be taken to the Associated Ambulance Authority.
“We’re running approximately 800 calls a year, and we feel that it’s very important to the community to have mechanically sound and safe ambulances to provide the best pre-hospital care to Donley County,” said Howard.