Winston County Rescue Squad set to purchase and lease ambulances

ARLEY - Eric Pendley, chief operations officer of Regional Paramedical Services (RPS), told the board of directors of the new Winston County Rescue Squad at its meeting at the Arley Fire Department, May 17, that RPS would lease an ambulance to the WCRS and was willing to help with its documentation of runs and billing.

At a meeting  Tuesday, June 6, Hanna said a CPA had approved the proposed arrangement with RPS.

The hope is for the WCRS to have both a primary and a backup ambulance, and Wakefield presented the board of directors with a sale notice for a 2005 Wheeled Coach Ford Commercial four-wheel drive ambulance with 50,000 miles on it that was available from Brindlee Mountain Fire Apparatus of Union Grove. It would arrive on the Brindlee Mountain lot within 5-8 days, and it was currently on hold for WCRS, he said.

He said he had received a quote and negotiated it down to $45,000 for the ambulance, which was described as a “resort truck” from the western U.S. Wakefield said that price will include a “bumper to bumper” servicing and any needed repairs, including cosmetic ones.

After hearing positive comments about this ambulance from the board and Wakefield, Hanna said he thought the WCRS should act quickly to purchase it.

The board voted unanimously to adopt a resolution to put a deposit down on a purchase option for the ambulance.

On Thursday, June 8, Hanna said he had sent the resolution “authorizing negotiation for the purchase of the truck contingent on it passing inspection.”

At the June 6, meeting, Wakefield said the WCRS should also move forward with the purchase of medical supplies because some items might be on back order. He estimated the supplies would cost $5,000-$6,000. He said a climate-controlled storage area would be needed for the supplies.

Wakefield also reported he had applied for $40,000 worth of grant funding on the WCRS’s behalf from Colonial Pipeline, CSX, Norfolk Southern and Firehouse Subs. He later noted that whether WCRS would actually be awarded any of that funding was a “big if.”

He said he had received a quote from the Stryker Corporation for around $1,100 for a stretcher, a LUCAS-automated CPR device and a Power-Pro stretcher loading system.

Chief Jeff Marksberry of Central Fire presented a ZOLL cardiac monitor, stethoscopes and other equipment his department was donating to the WCRS. Wakefield said the monitor was outdated enough that it no longer had FDA approval but that it could be traded in for a lower price on a newer model.
Smith said the next quarterly meeting of the AARS will be in three months. He said the WCRS needed to submit its application for membership before then and that it would have to have ten members to be eligible. Wakefield added that it would also have to have a vehicle with a logo on it to be eligible.

Fundraisers and how to donate

Ashely Tucker, Central Fire’s representative on the board of directors, said he had talked to Troy Hill of Chef Troy’s in Houston, who had agreed to do a dine-in/carry-out fundraiser for the WCRS on a Wednesday evening. The fundraiser has since been set for 4-6 p.m., Wednesday, June 28. The  menu is either prime rib and a baked potato or a shrimp and Andouille sausage boil including corn on the cob and potatoes for $20 a plate. Ten dollars of each plate’s price will go to the WCRS. Pre-orders are encouraged but not required.

The board also discussed holding a fishing tournament later in the summer as another fundraiser.

Anyone who would like to make a donation to the WCRS may do so in person at BankFirst in Arley or by mailing a check to the bank at P.O. Box 117, Arley, Ala., 35541, or to the WCRS itself at P.O. Box 471, Arley, Ala., 35541.