Lake Hills Going To Advanced Life Support Ambulance In July
The Lake Hills Fire Department announced Monday they will be going to an Advance Life Support Ambulance starting July 1, 2021. The Fire Department currently operates a Basic Life Support Ambulance, according to Lake Hills Fire Chief Shane Adams.
The Fire Department started the Ambulance service back in 1993 and was staffed by all volunteer Firefighters/EMT’s. In 2013 the Fire Department started staffing the Ambulance with 2 EMT’S Monday through Friday during the day due to the volunteers working during the day time hours. The department has been slowly adding on shifts and hours throughout the years, Adams said. The department has been working on funding so they could provide Advance Life Support. Until this transition, the Lake Hills Fire Department has had to rely on the surrounding fire departments for Advance Life Support. “The surrounding fire departments have done an outstanding job helping us in this capacity and we would like to thank them for this,” Adams stated.
On July 1, 2021, St John Township residents will now have the same care as the surrounding communities. The Fire Department will have one Paramedic and one EMT staffed at the station for 24 hours a day and seven days a week. They will also be certified through the State of Indiana as a Firefighter and will be responding on fire calls. The staffing will provide better medical care and will provide a quicker response time for the residents.
“We are very excited and happy to be able to provide this service to our residents,” Adams added. This has been possible due to the overwhelming support by the St John Township Trustee and Munster Community Hospital. On March 30, 2021, The St John Township passed a resolution approving additional funding every year to help pay for the staffing of a Paramedic and an EMT.
Adam’s thanked the following people for the hard work and commitment to make this happen: St John Township Trustee Cathy J. Lareau, St John Township Board Members Michael Aurelio, Lisa Elder, and Dan Bielski, Munster Community Hospital for their support. Also special thanks to Dr. Jonathan Garoza EMS Medical Director and Thomas Bettenhausen EMS Coordinator who has fully supported this and has helped the department move forward with this transition.
