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Show Dagger medlieeai senIces termed 'raoS adequate' Medical equipment and facilities available in Daggett County, which holds the popular Flaming Gorge Recreational Area in its confines, are "not adequate or they just don't exist," according to Commissioner Jerry Taylor, Daggett County. Recent boating accidents have served to demonstrate the difficulties in providing emergency medical care in this rural area. "In one accident," Gene Ruble, U.S. Forest Service, said, "the seriously injured victim was rescued from the water and after being stablized, had to wait for two hours for a rescue helicopter to arrive." Other than a doctor who visits Manila once a month from Vernal, the closest medical help is in Green River, Wyo., 45 miles away, Evanston or Rock Springs, Wyo., 94 and 60 miles away respectively, or Vernal which is 70 miles away. Situations requiring emergency medical help occur quite frequently during the year in this rural, but tourist paradise, county. Most of these emergencies are initially handled by twenty volunteers located in and around Manila who have been trained as emergency medical technicians. "Theirs is an awesome responsibility," respon-sibility," Commissioner Taylor said. Like medical providers in other communities, each of these volunteers frequently face life and death situations which often require accurate assessment, care and decision-making. However, unlike medical care in other communities, the array of medical equipment, facilities and back-up support available in Daggett County are not adequate, Taylor said. "The only emergency equipment we have here is an antiquated 1972 model Cadillac ambulance and the telephone," Taylor said. This emergency medical services system is all that is available to serve approximately 1.000 people who reside in the area, and 1.5 million tourists who ; visit each year. "Local elected officials have tried for a number of years," Taylor said, "to . retain adequate emergency medical equipment, but they've not met with much success." Taylor feels the major obstacle to any success in the past has been State c laws' 'which make it difficult for small fc rural communities to" raise ' public budgets to the extent necessary to finance improvements in the system. As a result of this dilemna, Taylor is attempting to retain financial assistance from state agencies. While he is enthusiastic about the potential help available, he states that his confidence con-fidence has been shaken by disappointing disap-pointing past experiences. "For example," Taylor said, "the state has provided us the sophisticated communication equipment, but we have not been able to use it because of the lack of assistance in installing a , base station, and the lack of training necessary to operate the equipment. They kind of forgot about us after the equipment was delivered." Taylor is being assisted by a community com-munity steering committee which is evaluating the area's medical care needs. Last month the committee conducted a community medical survey to obtain input from residents in the area. Preliminary results of the survey indicated the lack of emergency medical equipment as the most urgent problem facing the area. "It looks like the state may fund a new ambulance, but this is only the short-term answer to our problem," Taylor said. A clinic or other facility would satisfy the long-term medical requirement, but according to Taylor financing a medical facility is a "catch-22." Daggett County, the smallest county in Utah, doesn't have the tax base for such a facility nor can it raise its taxes sufficiently to raise the funds because of state tax restrictions. Taylor said the U.S. Forest should provide the medical care for the area, but is restricted by another state law. If nothing results from other avenues of funding, Taylor said the county would be willing to take the Forest Service to court to provide medical care. |