West Central Reporter

The Hancock County Board recently voted on the removal of Nauvoo and Dallas City Fire Districts from 911 dispatches for the Hancock County Ambulance System.

According to the Hancock County Journal, dispatches for 911 calls that require ambulances in either Nauvoo or Dallas City Fire districts will come from the Hancock County Ambulance System and Nauvoo. This means that two ambulances show up when only one is required.

“The ambulance that provides care will be paid for the service,” Jennifer Meeks, Hancock County EMS director, said. “As a result, we have ambulances driving up and down the roads to Nauvoo or Dallas City, only to find another ambulance there when we arrive. Taxpayer dollars are not being spent efficiently."

An ambulance that receives a 911 call by law must respond and can't leave the situation until verification of proper services happens. The response of two ambulances to a single location costs county taxpayers resources that could be used somewhere else.

“With a mutual aid agreement, we can send out an ambulance from Carthage or Hamilton if Nauvoo needs,” explained Meeks. “Our top priority here is to provide care when needed. A mutual aid agreement does that, without requiring two ambulances to respond to a single 911 call.”

In other actions in relation to the condition of the ambulance fleet, Meeks made a request to purchase another ambulance with a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant. The grant will pay for up to 35% of the ambulance costs, which is $46,065. The remaining $85,494 will be covered by the county with a loan through First Banker's Trust with an interest rate of 2.299%.

The grant must be approved in order for the purchase to happen. The ambulance has a Ford E350 chassis and an auto-loader system.