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Show i ' : . L- " J'' I if ' H VJ f - ----- fit sK l) l I EMT Tim Wright logs information in the new Mountain ambulance ambu-lance stationed at Fosters near Bryce. The new unit has many features that will help EMTs perform their important functions more skillfully. New style of lights on the outside will also make the ambulance more visible to the public. New Bryce Ambulance Enhances Emergency Response Capabilities BRYCE Emergency Medical Technicians in Garfield County whose volunteer services represent one of the most critical services in the county are in the habit of going beyond the call of duty. That attitude of volunteer service was the impetus behind the county's obtaining obtain-ing a new ambulance to replace an aging 1977 unit with over 100,000 miles logged, housed on Highway 12 at Foster's Steakhouse in the Bryce Canyon service area. With emergency runs at their peak during the summer season, the new unit arrives at a very opportune time, but it might not have made it at all except for the hard work of EMT Squad Leader Ron Harris. You might say he has a vested interest because the shiny new emergency vehicle will be staffed by Harris and his fellow EMTs. They include his wife Susan, a brother-team, Alfred Foster and Neil Foster, Tim Wright, another husband-and-wife team Dean and Karlecn Mclnclly, along with several National Park Service EMTs from Bryce Canyon National Park, and a few from TW Services, concessioners at the park. Harris played an instrumental part in this new purchase by writing a grant proposal through the Utah Emergency Medical Services Ser-vices Grant Program of the Bureau of Emergency Medical Services (BEMS). He submitted the application appli-cation April 4, 1994 and received a total of $17,000 in grant moneys. Earlier, he had received a bid of $75,000 for the model everyone had agreed upon as most suitable to the county's needs. Garfield County picked up the remainder of the cost from previous allocations regularly set aside by the county commission for replacement emergency vehicles every three years. The county's newest ambulance features a Chevy chassis with a 6.5 turbo diesel engine and air-ride suspension for smoother travel. It has more head room, up to 72 inches, for standing. An ALS unit with CPR seats on both sides of the patient and head of the patient makes tending to the patient's needs easier. It also has a new semi-automated semi-automated defibrillator unit, a slip-resistantseamless slip-resistantseamless floor (allowing for easy cleanup with no hard to reach areas where blood might penetrate). It boasts a curbside window (rather than that boxed-in feeling), an electronic oxygen monitoring system and multiple IV hangers to allow for transport of up to three critical patients. A new environmental "air flow" system recycles and cleans the air to reduce "airborne" transmission problems. The ambulance also has a fully automatic heat and air conditioning system, new Vector 60 light bar on the front and sides of the unit which makes it far more visible from both directions at intersections. It should also have more power and get better gas mileage on runs, says Harris. It was purchased through W.K. Mack Company of Enterprise and delivered from Orlando, Fla. EMT Basic training will be changing this year to accommodate a new basic curriculum. Starting in July all EMTs will train in what is called a "bridging" course to bring all personnel up to date on defibrillator defib-rillator use and certify at the basic level rather than intermediate level. Garfield County now has ambulances ambu-lances based in Panguitch, Hatch, Antimony, Bryce, Tropic, and Esca-lante. : : s ' I V '""""- ry , .1-ft rr"-'t mt'i' ' . :'T """IF"' " v -i '""H ' ."f'C ,. 4J ' Z ..... Vu-i--; I H '' '" iiiiii W'lii in i i i --- Two-year-old Jaylen, daughter of Wally and Amy Dodds of Panguitch waves happily at mommy and daddy at recent cnrriiyal sponsored by the Panguitch High School Boosters. |