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Don't disregard dedication to the community
Lifeline recently purchased Jackson Emergency Transport Service (JETS), which was contracted to provide service for 3/4 of the county. McIntosh Rescue Squad provides ambulance service for much of the southern district with two ambulances. It appears that the county's three-member ambulance board does not give the McIntosh Rescue Squad the credit it is due for providing quality ambulance service to that portion of the county. I have addressed this before on this page, but due to recent developments, I felt it necessary to do so again. I have a serious question to pose to those on the Washington County Ambulance Board: Why would you replace a quality service which operates with minimal cost to the county with a fully paid service? In addition, with the increase in people in that area of the county, due to the nearing construction of the ThyssenKrupp steel plant, why would you replace two ambulances with one? Burk Williams, the board's chairman, stated that he wanted to provide the best quality ambulance service for the county. Why doesn't McIntosh Rescue Squad fit into that plan? Those who man the two ambulances owned by the rescue squad are trained personnel. Many work for ambulance services as their regular jobs then volunteer their skills during their off time, often working more hours there than for their paying employers. And, they've been doing this for nearly 30 years. Now if that's not dedication, I don't know what is. McIntosh Rescue Squad Chief Candy Davidson has assured me and the people they serve that they are not going anywhere, even if funding is cut by the county. I don't think they should. I also don't think that their funding should be cut. If anything, it should be increased. Several years ago when this issue arose, I made the suggestion to a member of the ambulance board that perhaps the county could look at the possibility of making McIntosh Rescue Squad a paid service for 12 hours during the day and operate as a volunteer organization for the remaining 12 hours. A similar setup was in place in Luverne when I worked there and seemed to be successful. My suggestion must have fallen on deaf ears because I have not once heard anyone suggest anything similar. That same person is still a member of the ambulance board. During last week's meeting, the board also talked about doing away with the ambulance satellite station in Wagarville. The statement was made that two ambulances could cover the entire county. Tell that to those who live in the outlying areas. Someone who makes the decisions for JETS obviously felt that there was a need for the Wagarville location, enough to actually create it. JETS has only been covering 3/4 of the county and utilizing three ambulances, two fully manned ones and one truck with an on-call crew. How is dropping one ambulance supposed to give better coverage and why cut out a volunteer service that is comparable to any paid service? It seems to me that someone who has a part in the decisionmaking concerning ambulance service in Washington County, whether it be on the board or behind the scenes, has a vendetta against the McIntosh Rescue Squad. Whatever the reasoning behind last week's decision, it's time to let bygones be bygones and use common sense. The McIntosh Rescue Squad is an asset to Washington County--one that should be utilized. There's a lot of potential there that could also save the county money while keeping quality ambulance service in the southern part of the county.
There's an old saying that "a fool and his money will soon part." We may all see this happen in Washington County in the near future.
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