Community Supports New Island Ambulance Purchase
Tickets, Pledges Go To $75,000 Vehicle
By Jessica Delaney

Between the beginning of dessert and the time the last sugary crumbs were licked off fingers, community members had made a decision: to support the Mackinac Island Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) in their quest for a new ambulance.

A dinner, held Sunday, July 10, at Iroquois Hotel, was meant to raise funds and to increase awareness of medical services on the Island. Sixty-two tickets were sold at $100 each, and later donations easily raised the proceeds to $7,500. The Iroquois donated the dinner and dining room, some of its suppliers contributed to the meal, and servers donated their time to the cause, so 100 percent of the ticket sales went to the ambulance corps.

But after presentations by Dr. Donald Weersing of the Mackinac Island Medical Center, and Pete Olson, a paramedic and the education coordinator for Allied EMS, which operates the ambulance service here, those attending the dinner decided to take matters into their own hands. A few residents began rallying support for the new ambulance, and that eventually led to enough pledges to support the purchase of a $75,000 ambulance.

“This is what everybody was hoping for, but nobody really expected,” said Sam Barnwell, an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) and dinner organizer. “The dinner was meant to raise awareness of EMTs and medical service on the Island, and then to go from there.”

The pledges were made by several cottagers and business owners, who wanted to assure the EMTs that they would cover the ambulance purchase, but they hope other community members who could not attend the dinner will still donate and share the cost.

It was a magnanimous gesture, said Mr. Barnwell of the pledges, and gave the city a real boost toward acquiring a new vehicle.

“This dinner got the ball moving,” he noted. “But this isn’t just an ambulance for the people on the bluff, it’s for the whole community, and, hopefully, everybody can get involved. The community can all pitch in, because that’s what this is all about, for people to give what they’re able to give. Fifty dollars is just as important as $10,000.”

Since the City of Mackinac Island owns the ambulance, officials at the Community Hall will be meeting next week to decide the best course of action to take.

The ambulance now in service was purchased in 1988. While it met all emergency medical requirements at the time, according to Mr. Olson, it could use some upgrades now. In addition, replacement parts for the truck and the medical unit attached to it are hard or impossible to get, because of their age. Purchasing a new ambulance has become a near necessity.

“What this means for the Medical Center is the assurance of EMS services and having a reliable vehicle for those services,” said Dr. Weersing.

Though the benefit dinner was hosted by island medical staff, the responsibility for purchasing the new ambulance ultimately resides with the city. The EMS service is coordinated through Allied EMS of Petoskey, but the equipment is owned by the city. Mayor Margaret Doud, who was present at the benefit dinner, said that the city will move quickly on the process of purchasing an ambulance.

“We have a committee formed and this committee will work with the EMTs to figure out the best type of vehicle for the Island,” said Mayor Doud.

The committee is in its early stages, and no decisions have been made yet regarding what type of ambulance will be purchased, nor when the ambulance will be ordered. It has been decided, however, that a new ambulance will definitely be bought, and the question of whether it will be leased is no longer an issue.

The city has considered exploring an ambulance with more capabilities than the current vehicle, as well as training firemen as EMT first responders, however, that, too, is just in planning stages.

“We don’t really know yet what the bottom line is,” said Mayor Doud. “Everything is very preliminary now, but, hopefully, we will be able to put an order in to buy an ambulance in the near future.”

The city has also applied for an Assistance to Firefighters grant, which could help cover the cost of the new emergency vehicle, although the national competition for a limited amount of money is fierce.

Allied EMS is responsible for managing the emergency services and to provide wages and benefits to EMTs, mandated training, extra staff when needed, and a replacement vehicle if the ambulance on the Island should break down. It does not have the funds to contribute a new vehicle, however, nor is it required to under the contract with the city.

“We are getting a lot of pressure right now to provide services, said Mr. Olson, who lives part time on the Island. When people retire up north who are originally from the big cities, they bring with them the expectations of big city service. But because of time and the distance here, we can’t put an ambulance right at somebody’s door in mere minutes.”

Most upper Michigan emergency services, he said, can require an hour or more to travel the distance to find a patient and bring him to definitive care. The Island is a slightly different situation, since it is a smaller area for the ambulance to cover, but when two calls are received simultaneously, there are not necessarily the resources to immediately attend to each emergency.

Meanwhile, according to Mr. Olson 50 percent of all ambulance runs in the nation are for Medicare patients. The reimbursement that Allied EMS receives from Medicare covers only 73 percent of the actual cost. In addition, emergency services nationally only receive four percent of the money allocated for first response through Homeland Security.

“The federal government and Medicare aren’t paying, but expectations are rising,” said Mr. Olson. “Allied can’t afford to purchase a new truck, that all has to come from donations. That is why we tried to shift the financial burden to the community.”

Now, with the pledges that were received at the dinner, the city can move ahead on deciding what type of ambulance it feels is needed, while additional donations can help reduce the burden on the pledge makers.

The city has three basic configurations of ambulance to decide between. There is a Type One ambulance, which is basically a box that fits on the back of a large pickup. A Type One ambulance would be a smaller ambulance, which would probably only allow enough space for basic care. A Type Two ambulance is basically a van. The city currently owns a Type Two van. Type Three would be a larger van with a box. With a Type Three ambulance, EMTs would be able to move between the box, or operating part of the ambulance, and the driver’s compartment, as well as provide more space for patient care.

Price ranges for the three types of ambulance vary considerably, but choosing which emergency vehicle to purchase goes beyond the pricing. According to Mr. Olson, the city must also consider what kind of emergency service the city wishes to offer. There are three levels of service which can be provided with first response. Basic care is the lowest level, in which no intravenous tubes can be inserted and only basic EMTs are required. The second level is limited advanced care, which includes both basic EMTs along with specialists or paramedics, and allows for IVs to be inserted. Currently, the Island has limited advanced care. The third level, which the city could consider moving to with the purchase of a larger ambulance, would be full advanced care, which requires at least one paramedic and allows IVs to be put in, along with administering drugs through the IVs.

Regardless of the direction the city chooses, EMTs and Island medical staff are just glad about the community reception they already have received. In addition to the money actually raised by those attending the benefit dinner, they also have been impressed by the support from other quarters. Food for the dinner was donated by off-island businesses, and the dessert was sponsored by Bacardi. In addition, all wait staff at the benefit dinner chose to volunteer their time, and were not paid for serving.

“We were very pleased with the support from the community,” said Dr. Weersing. “We’re all quite excited about this.”