Ambulance services reduced

By Colin Rigley

Email this story | Print this story

Posted: Monday, January 21, 2008 10:15 AM CST

Calaveras County ambulance services are getting a downgrade due to decreasing revenues and calls for service.

American Legion, which is contracted to provide ambulance services to Calaveras County, is taking two “cover cars” out of commission. The cars provide service to the north end of the county as well as parts of Amador County. Cover cars run on a 12-hour cycle and are used to provide backup for 24-hour ambulances.

Representatives from American Legion did not return calls for comment.

Supervisor Bill Claudino said American Legion is $100,000 in the red and has had a drop in calls of about 20 to 30 percent in the last few months.

“This is just strictly a business decision,” Claudino said.

American Legion was contracted about two years ago to provide ambulance services. The contract is performance based, so if response times drop the county can step in.

At Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting, Supervisor Steve Wilensky was upset about the reduction and believed it would hurt response times for the mountain communities of District 2.

“We let them run their business,” Claudino said, “but they need to get the ambulance there in a specified amount of time.”

Contact Colin Rigley at crigley@calaverasenterprise.com.

Comment (2 comment(s))

Craig wagoner wrote on Jan 21, 2008 11:04 AM:

" My wife is one of the paramedics affected by this cutback. American Legion does not have enough ambulances to cover the county as it is. There are times when the county only has 1 or 2 ambulances to cover the whole county. This should be an outrage to the citizens of the county. As an elected official supervisor Claudino should take action to stop this. As a elected official supervisor Claudino can be unelected and a campaign to do is a very real option. "

Colin Rigley wrote on Jan 21, 2008 4:13 PM:

" Craig,

I am still following this story and would really like to speak with you and your -wife. Please contact me at the office, 754-3861, or through email, crigley@calaverasenterprise.com.

Thank you,

Colin Rigley
Calaveras Enterprise "

Comments are posted after review by the Web master. They represent the opinion of the commenting party. While we encourage them as a way to further community discussion of important public topics, we reserve the right to reject or edit them.

How do I find my comments later? Articles change daily on our Web site. Please make a note of the title of the article you have commented on. If you wish to read other people comments, once the article is taken down, do an archive search by title to locate the comments that apply to that story. We appreciate your comments and participation on our Web site.

Please refrain from attaching links that go to unrelated sites as these will not be posted.
In order to post comments you will also need to provide your full name and the city or town of your mailing address (such as "Murphys, CA.")in the boxes below.

We are requiring the same information for internet postings as letters to the editor in the Enterprise to ensure that each writer takes personal responsibility for what they say in this public forum.

The Calaveras Enterprise is not responsible for statements, advice or opinions offered by anyone other than authorized Calaveras Enterprise spokespersons.

Comments are limited to 200 words or less.