Ambulance service acquires new unit
An update about the arrival of a new ambulance was shared at last Friday morning’s regular meeting of the Union County Board of Commissioners.
The meeting was at the Union County Courthouse in Jonesboro.
Union County Ambulance Service director Grant Capel said the new unit was delivered last week.
The ambulance service’s newest advanced life support vehicle features a 2022 model chassis with four-wheel drive and a 2010 patient compartment, or “box.”
The patient compartment was acquired from American Specialty Vehicles, ASV, in Fouke, Ark. The firm specializes in the remount and refurbishing of all varieties of ambulances, according to its website.
Capel said the new unit is unique for the ambulance service because it is refurbished.
He said the ambulance service is working to prepare the unit for service. Plans call for the new ambulance to be made ready for a rigid inspection process before it’s on the road, hopefully in about four weeks.
Capel thanked the county board for its support in the support of the unit. He had to act quickly to acquire the vehicle.
The cost of the vehicle was $166,000, including the trade of a 2012 unit with motor issues. Capel told a county board member that acquiring the refurbished unit saved thousands of dollars.
Adding the new unit to the ambulance service is part of a continuing effort to protect the public, Capel said.