WINNEMUCCA - Humboldt General Hospital board members said they are intent on getting information about hospital services out to the communities HGH serves. Part of that effort occasionally requires correcting erroneous information being circulated through the Winnemucca (and McDermitt) rumor mills.
McDermitt Fire District board member and former fire chief Gary Wilson brought a rumor he'd heard about HGH pulling its ambulance service out of McDermitt directly to HGH board members at their last meeting.
"I would like to know from the board what their intentions are going forward with the ambulance service in McDermitt," Wilson said.
Wilson's interest is more than passing. The McDermitt Fire District is constructing an emergency services multi-plex building in McDermitt. Plans call for the building to eventually house McDermitt Fire Department, Humboldt County Sheriff's Office McDermitt substation, McDermitt Community Board office, and Humboldt General Hospital Emergency Medical Services ambulances and crew members.
"We have already invested quite a bit of money into this project to accommodate the ambulance service," Wilson told the HGH board, and asked, "Are they still going to do this?"
Hospital Board Chairman Moe Hanzlik answered Wilson's question, saying, "To my knowledge, to (HGH CEO) Mr. Parrish's knowledge, and to (HGH EMS Director) Mr. Songer's knowledge, we are not going to remove our ambulance service from McDermitt. We are planning to be there for the community of McDermitt and the county."
Hanzlik added that the ambulances stationed in McDermitt will be addressing calls from the Fort McDermitt reservation, "if we need to, if dispatch calls us."
Hanzlik, who serves as a volunteer with HGH EMS rescue, said "I'm the main proponent of having the ambulance up there."
Wilson said, "That gives me a little better idea where we are because we have this Community Development Block Grant of $233,000 to put on this project, and we'd like to have it (HGH EMS ambulance and crew) here and like to see it go forward."
Hanzlik said he also had heard the rumors mentioned by Wilson from other sources. So had board member Mel Hummel. Former hospital board member Jim French said he'd received a couple of calls from people who'd heard the rumor as well.
Hanzlik reiterated, "We have no intentions of pulling our ambulance out."
He added, "There are people in Orovada and McDermitt that have already benefitted from the ambulance service greatly in just the time we have been there."
Hummel took the opportunity to ask Wilson how far along they were on the project.
Wilson said four bays were completed with USDA grant funding. He said funding is still very tight, and that the McDermitt Fire District had to borrow $23,000 from the county to put up a fire wall and insulation that was required specifically because the ambulance service would be housed in the multiplex.
Now, with CDBG funding, the two ambulance bays are going in and the portion where the sheriff's substation will be housed is underway.
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