Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Village works for new ambulance

T.S. Last El Defensor Chieftain General Manager, tslast@dchieftain.com

Magdalena is looking to double the size of its ambulance service by tapping a state Emergency Medical Service fund.

Magdalena Marshal Larry Cearley received permission from the village's Board of Trustees to apply for a grant that would pay the bulk of the cost of a second ambulance to serve the village.

"We can apply for a grant for $75,000 that the state will pay," he told the trustees during their regular meeting Monday night (Sept. 8). "The idea is to buy a whole new ambulance and have (the ambulance currently in service) as a backup."

Cearley said he has priced the emergency vehicles with two ambulance companies and learned a new one would cost about $105,000. If the grant goes through, Cearley said the village could cover the difference with the money it receives from Medicaid and Medicare payments.

"The money that comes in from that, we can use to pay that off," the marshal said.

Cearley said it was possible that the village could have the new ambulance by next March or April.

In his monthly EMS report, Cearley indicated the ambulance currently in service responded to seven calls during the month of August. There were 16 calls in July and seven in June.

Rita Broaddus, who serves the dual role of clerk and treasurer, estimated that there was currently about $16,000 in the village's ambulance fund.

Mayor Pro Tem Jack Fairweather asked if the new addition planned for the firehouse would accommodate a second ambulance, and Cearley said it would.

At recent board of trustees meetings, Cearley has reported on repairs that have been made on the ambulance currently being used.

After Monday's meeting, he said $8,000 in repairs have been made to the 11-year old ambulance since the fiscal year began July 1. The repairs have involved work on the front end and computer wiring, he said.

Tim O'Neill, the Magdalena fire marshal, added that many of the automobile accidents EMS responds to involve multiple injuries, so having two ambulances would be an asset. He added that EMS vehicles take a beating traveling unpaved roads.

With Mayor Jim Wolfe and trustee Barbara Baca absent, a motion to allow Cearley to apply for the grant was approved unanimously by Fairweather, Carmen Torres and Dolly Dawson.

In other business: