30 years ago – December 28, 1990
At a meeting Thursday between Gilpin County ambulance service directors, the commissioners and state emergency medical services representatives, an agreement was reached that will provide ambulance service until March 1. The agreement requires the ambulance service to continue operating under the same terms that have been in force for a number of years while a new agreement is being negotiated. Although ambulance personnel have said they will not work under the present agreement, they decided to extend the deadline for two months. Because the current agreement with the county is extremely broad and doesn’t define what the ambulance service’s responsibilities are, the volunteers who provide emergency medical service feel they are taking on a tremendous personal liability in running with the ambulance. The next meeting between the various parties involved will be Thursday, January 3, at which time a proposal from Search & Rescue, the organization that operates the ambulance service, will be presented as a starting point in coming up with an agreement that answers the concerns of both the ambulance service and the county government. It appears that Search & Rescue will be unable to guarantee round-the-clock ambulance service to the county due to a serious shortage of volunteers willing to run with the ambulance. The membership has dwindled in recent years, and only a handful of volunteers remain active as drivers and medical providers. The Search & Rescue board, elected in October, asks that anyone who might be interested in working with the ambulance call John Rittenhouse.
Support authors and subscribe to content
Subscribe to read the entire article.
