Boulder is currently in the market for—and, according to City Council President Drew Dawson, “really needs”—reliable ambulances. Boulder Ambulance Services currently has two ambulances, both of which are more than 20 years old, but a grant the city is vying for could help replace one of the aging vehicles with a new one.
Each year, the Montana legislature supplies the state Department of Transportation with $1 million of grant money to assist rural areas with emergency services, and Boulder applied for funds for a new ambulance from that pot of funds, Dawson said. He added that if Boulder receives the grant, the MDT would handle the bidding process and use the necessary funds to purchase a fully equipped ambulance for Boulder, complete with a “power cot” that raises and lowers patients in and out of the ambulance at the touch of a button.
BAS Maintenance Officer Steve Carey said that Boulder currently has ambulances mounted on van chassis. However, the BAS is seeking an ambulance that is mounted on a truck-style chassis with four-wheel drive, which would cost about $175,000. Other equipment the BAS is seeking includes a $36,000 Zoll X series monitor—which displays a patient’s vitals including heart rate, oxygen saturation, blood pressure and body temperature—and the $40,000 Stryker power cot, Steve Carey added.
