California ambulance groundbreaking ceremony slated

The Mid-Mo Ambulance Board of Directors meeting Wednesday, May 11, approved a ground-breaking ceremony for the new Mid-Mo Ambulance base in California.

The ground-breaking is set for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 18, at south city limits of California on the east side of Highway 87. This is to be the location of the new building. The builder of the new base has made his "first draw request." The request was turned over to the lender and payment will soon be issued.

Administrator Lee Kempf informed the board that another paramedic will be out for awhile. This adds to the problem discussed last month of the shortage of paramedics. A serious medical issue arose for the individual and the district's medical roster, already short-staffed, will be even shorter staffed with the busier summer months approaching.

The board discussed the district's policy regarding transports of patients to more distant medical centers. The board consensus was that no changes were needed in the policy. Patients wanting to be transported to a medical center further than the closest appropriate hospital could continue to be transported, but need to be aware of the limits on their insurance coverage. Kempf stated that the district's top priority will continue to be about patient care and not the checkbook.

In other business, the April treasurer's report balance on hand was $488,713.77. Run statistics for April were: Tipton - 50 calls with 34 transports; California - 71 calls, 52 transports; and Versailles - 156 calls, 124 transports. District wide, there were 277 calls with 210 transports for a transport rate of 84.3 percent. The next regular meeting is set for June 15 at the Tipton district office.