New lease agreement will mean county ambulances will have latest equipment
By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio
Tuesday, June 6, 2023 — Nelson County EMS will soon re-equip its fleet of ambulances with the latest medical equipment thanks to Nelson Fiscal Court’s agreement to enter into a lease with Stryker.
The upgrades are part of the county’s 10-year lease agreement and will be provided as part of the lease. The agreement also means the equipment will be upgraded when necessary.
According to Emergency Service Director Joe Prewitt, the upgrades are expected to begin within approximately 12 weeks.
The problem facing EMS was the fact that medical equipment in an ambulance has a set life span. Once it reaches a certain age, it can no longer be used with patients and must be replaced. The cost of the lease with Stryker was competitive with the maintenance costs for the ambulances’ current equipment.
The county owns nine ambulances but only is able to afford to equip four of them at a time. The lease with Stryker will allow for more units to be equipped and avoid the hassle of moving medical equipment from one ambulance to another.
WEST STEPHEN FOSTER ROUNDABOUT. County Engineer Brad Spalding said West Stephen Foster will be shut down for approximately 30 days this summer for construction work on the roundabout planned for the Cathedral Manor / Stephen Foster intersection.
The roadway will be re-opened on August 1st and will remain open until major construction begins again next summer.
In additional business, the court:
— approved the purchase of 20 new roll-off boxes for the landfill.
— heard from landfill manager John Greenwell that the state has given approval for the landfill expansion plans and he will advertise for bids.
— heard from Judge-Executive Tim Hutchins that the note for the Nelson County Justice Center was paid off this month.
— heard from Director of Emergency Service Joe Prewitt that the loan that the E911 Dispatch board borrowed to purchase equipment has been fully repaid.
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