New Ambulance Helping with Fuel Costs
This video is no longer available.
You may have noticed a few different looking ambulances on the roadways lately. While crews are using them to save lives, they’re also using them to save money. “They are the wave of the future,” said Medical Center EMS Director, Joyce Noles. “If you look at them, they’re not what I would look at and think of an ambulance.” But they are; the Mercedes ambulances are two of four new purchases by the Medical Center EMS. While the slick new whips are designed for non-emergency transports, directors say they bought the vehicles at a discount. “The vehicles that we purchased were already in the process of being made for another company in Tennessee,” said Noles. “That service had to cancel their contract with the vendor due to financial reasons. So they already had these in the works. They needed to get rid of them and we needed a truck, so it was a good financial purchase for both of us.” Noles said nearly a ten percent discount , though she would not say the grand total. In addition to saving on the initial buy, she says they save money everyday at the gas pump. “On a standard box truck, what is what you normally recognize in an ambulance, you only get about 7 to 8 miles to a gallon, where as with these trucks, you’re getting about 20,” said Noles. “They’re more fuel efficient, they burn cleaner, they have the new exhaust system.” And while saving cash was an important issue, Noles says saving lives was the major selling point. “This particular vehicle actually has the new safety designs with all the chevrons and stuff,” said Noles. “The doors slide versus open out on the sides, and it gives our crews a safer environment if they’re working on the interstate or somewhere like that.” Medical Center EMS crews said they receive about 750 non-emergency calls per month. The added comfort of the new vehicles help in these transfers.
