VI National Guard To Provide D.O.H. With Tactical Ambulance In Light Of Emergency Vehicles Shortage

ST. CROIX  — The Department of Health issued a press release this afternoon stating that at least one of the two ambulances that needed repairs is operational once more. D.O.H. had made known late Thursday that because both ambulances on this island had broken down, ambulance services had been temporarily halted.

According to D.O.H. Director of Public Relations Nykole Tyson, in addition to the resumption of ambulatory services, the Virgin Islands National Guard, through an order signed by Acting Governor Osbert Potter, will be collaborating with D.O.H. by providing a tactical ambulance, driver, and medical specialist to respond to the overflow of emergency calls. According to the release, two D.O.H emergency medical technicians will accompany the National Guard ambulance to respond to emergency calls. The collaboration will provide two ambulances to serve the St. Croix district.

As for the refurbished ambulance recently purchased, which D.O.H. Commissioner Michelle Davis said on Monday would be put to use “immediately,” Ms. Tyson said in this afternoon’s release that it was being “retrofitted” for local use at Metro Motors with “running boards and steps,” and that once completed, the ambulance would be added to the current fleet.

Information obtained by The Consortium on Thursday revealed that the recently purchased ambulance had not been utilized because the inside setup was too elevated, making the vehicle unusable. According to a source who spoke on the condition of anonymity, emergency medical technicians would have to raise a stretcher above their heads to place a patient in the refurbished ambulance.

On Monday, Ms. Davis said the ambulance would have been ready to use immediately, which would “instill the confidence of our community in our department to properly respond to critical emergencies in response to deployment via the VITEMA 911 system.”

The ambulances — one for St. Croix and the other for St. Thomas — were purchased through the Department of Property and Procurement for $49,000 each, through the emergency vehicles funding measure which allocated some $10 million through the Public Finance Authority for the vehicles.