No ambulance in Goodrich
No ambulance in Goodrich
By ALLAN TINKER
On July 18, 2013, the Good-rich Ambulance Service ceased operations, according to Wayne Houston, Sheridan County 911 Coordinator.
On July 15, a regional Emer-gency Medical Service (EMS) meeting was held in Bowdon to address the concerns that had been addressed in letters to the Goodrich Ambulance Service back to 2010 and win direct communication with the Goodrich squad.
With the option to become compliant with state rules and regulations no longer possible, the options then became three: become a substation of another ambulance service, become a quick response unit (QRU), or dissolve entirely. The Goodrich service chose the latter of the three options.
A QRU stance would not have made them fill a service 24-1, instead they could be available to respond or not, depending upon availability of personnel or transportation. They could keep their current ambulance for transportation but would have to remove the word “ambulance” from the vehicle and the vehicle’s garage. Not to do so would be advertising an ambulance service.
The Goodrich service was urged to become a QRU or substation but did not choose to do so due to available volunteers to train or those currently trained able or willing to continue providing such services. The declining population in many small towns of North Dakota has made this situation more frequent in past years.
For the community in and around Goodrich this means that if they need an ambulance they must call 911 to get an am-bulance. The local 884 number will no longer work for summoning an ambulance.
