By Madeleine SutherlandRecord Staff WriterThe Warren County Ambulance District has been awarded a $357,000 grant from the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program.The grant will allow the district to purchase power stretchers for each ambulance and protective gear for the entire emergency response staff.This was the first time the application was accepted, after the district sought the funding for the past five years.District officials submitted their application in December 2014 and were notified of the award earlier this month.“We were extremely pleased that we received this grant, especially because of the size of it,” said Ralph Hellebusch, ambulance district administrator.The new protective gear will provide weather protection, offer a safer environment and higher visibility when responding to motor vehicle accidents. Also, it is resistant to body fluids and other common fluids described by the National Fire Protection Association.The remaining funds will allow the district to buy new power stretchers for each ambulance. The district will be the first agency in the area to have these stretchers, which are designed to provide safer patient transport and better protection to medical responders against common work-related injuries such as strained backs, damaged shoulders, and pulled muscles.“We’ve noticed in the past that a lot of the worker’s compensation injuries that we see here are due to lifting. Our staff will have back pains or rotator cuff problems,” said Hellebusch.The expense of the power stretchers prohibits many agencies from purchasing the devices. For Warren County, power stretchers for all ambulances would have cost the district over $350,000.“Without assistance from a grant like this there’s no way we’d be able to afford the power stretchers on our own,” said Hellebusch.The district’s original five-year plan had budgeted for new manual stretchers that would cost $63,000. With the award of the grant, the district will now be able to purchase power stretchers instead. They are required to invest 10 percent in matching funds, about $35,000, for the new devices, a much smaller sum than manual stretchers would have cost.“I am extremely happy for our patients and our staff to be able to purchase the stretchers and the protective gear that the district needs so badly,” said Darren Lenk, a paramedic supervisor who submitted the grant application.The district has one year to complete their purchase of the new equipment. It is currently obtaining final bids for products and expect to have the protective gear and power stretchers in place by the end of 2015 or in early 2016.The primary goal of AFG is to meet the needs of firefighting and emergency medical service organizations. Since 2001, AFG has helped firefighters and other first responder agencies to obtain critical equipment, protective gear, emergency vehicles, training and other resources.According to the AFG website, 2,700 monetary awards are expected to be made nationally to other agencies and organizations this year.Paramedics with the Warren County Ambulance District pose with a stretcher that will be replaced. The district recently learned it was awarded a $357,000 grant through the Assistance to Firefighters program. Pictured, from left, are Tanya Sinclair, Holly Whelchel, Amanda Warmann and Jason Bostick. Madeleine Sutherland photo.
