EMS service getting two new ambulances

Two new Crestline Commander ambulances are expected to arrive at the Associated Ambulance Authority on March 18.
The ambulances cost a total of $252,000, which will be partially paid for with the help of a $35,000 grant from the Texas Department of State Health and $24,000 that the ambulance service has saved for the purchases. The sale and trade-in of two older ambulances will provide about $10,000, and the balance will be covered by a five-year note.
“Everyone on the hospital board is thrilled about the new ambulances,” Donley County Hospital District Administrator Anna Howard said. “We’re ready for them to get here.”
The need for the new ambulances is due to two of the present units’ mechanical problems and constant malfunctioning. All three ambulances are out of warranty, so repairs to them require out of pocket fees.
“The board figured it would be cheaper to go ahead and get the new ambulances,” Howard said. “The 2004 ambulance that will be traded in has been malfunctioning since 2005, and it actually has been a part of a litigation process because of continuous malfunction.”
Another reason the hospital board decided to purchase the ambulances now is because new emission laws and requirements going into effect starting in 2011 are going to cause ambulances to go up in price by $5,000-8,000 per unit.
“We decided it would be more economical to go ahead and get the ambulances now because of the increased cost of ambulances in the future,” Howard said.
Over the past seven years, the number of calls to the ambulance station have gradually increased from 553 total calls in 2003 to 749 in 2009. From the beginning of this year, there have already been 104 ambulance calls.
“Usually January and February are our slow months,” Howard said. “If it keeps it up, then we could very well get into the 900s, which is a large amount for a small rural ambulance department.”
Howard said the increase in calls is possibly due to the economy.
“People can’t afford to go to the regular doctor to take care of routine illnesses, so they wait until it gets really bad, and then call emergency vehicles to treat their sickness,” Howard said. 
The rise in calls has caused two, even three ambulances to be out running at the same time.
“The two new units are a necessity,” Howard said. “It has become a regular thing that both ambulances are running together. We need two ambulances that don’t malfunction due to this increase in yearly calls.”
The Ambulance Authority is looking forward to the new ambulances arrival.
“We’re just waiting patiently waiting now, hoping the units don’t break down before the new ones get here,” Howard said.