MARION, Ark. — Ambulance service in Marion, Arkansas is changing.
The city will no longer provide the service and has sold off its three ambulances.
A private ambulance company purchased the vehicles and will now handle calls previously handled by the Fire Department.
So far the move hasn’t negatively impacted patient care.
Marion Fire Chief Woody Wheeless assured us the recent sale of Marion’s three ambulances is no cause for concern.
“If we weren’t having this conversation today, the public wouldn’t even realize there was a difference as far as response,” Wheeless said. “This is not a decision that we made yesterday. This is something we’ve been talking about with the administration for the last year.”
The decision for Marion’s Fire Department to stop providing ambulance service is tied to the closing of Crittenden Regional Hospital and the length of time Marion’s volunteer firefighters and EMT’s have to spend transporting patients to hospitals farther away.
“The wait times, depending on where they went, could be anywhere from two to six hours. Well, all these individuals have full time jobs, so it was taking a toll on them,” Wheeless said.
The ambulances were purchased by Crittenden EMS for $86,000.
Hudson Hallum, owner of Crittenden EMS, says the additional units will be updated to provide what’s called ‘advanced level care.’
“You have to take care of people longer. So paramedic ambulances that are staffed continuously are necessary to provide the type of car the public needs right now,” Hallum said.
Candice Gross’ 2-year-old son experiences seizures.
Her feelings on who runs the ambulance service in Marion boil down to one thing.
“It doesn’t matter as long as they’re making a response time that’s really good to take care of the people who need it. It really shouldn’t matter who owns it,” Gross said.
We’re told the cost of the patient transport should remain pretty much the same, unless you need specialize care provided by paramedics.