I've been on the squad since May 2000 and the sound of the pager in the middle of the night still creates an adrenaline rush! I jump up, quickly get dressed, and head for the ambulance garage. It's another day in the life of a rural volunteer ambulance squad.
People do this for all types of reasons. Some like the excitement, maybe it is the medical field, possibly all about helping people, or others just giving back to the community. Whatever the reason, the New Town Ambulance has been in service since 1974 and has answered thousands of these calls over the years. Anything from motor vehicle crashes to chest pains to diabetic emergencies to babies not breathing. You name it and we have probably helped someone with it.
Today's New Town Ambulance volunteers are just as committed as the volunteers in the past. On the average the service responds to between 450-500 calls per year. That places a huge demand on our volunteers. There is always a need for more volunteers in every category from drivers to EMT's.
A few years ago the service contracted paramedics to be on call twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. This allowed us to upgrade from a basic life support service to a service with advanced life support capabilities. This has been a valuable addition to the region as patients can get the advanced pre-hospital care they need without having to wait for distant intercepts. Most of the patients are transported to Minot, but occasionally are transported to Stanley, Watford City, or Williston.
The service uses Wheeled Coach "Citimedic" ambulances. They were a welcome addition to our squad.
Another recent adition is the hiring of full-time drivers to alleviate delays in response time when volunteers are not always able to respond. Volunteers are still a very important part of our ability to respond to multiple emergencies.
We are proud of the service we provide for our community and surrounding area and are hopeful that the younger generation will continue in the community effort that is the volunteer spirit of the New Town Ambulance.