Allentown EMS awarded $15,000 state grant for equipment; committee advances item to council

A council committee voted to advance a proposal to accept a $15,000 grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Office of the State Fire Commissioner to the Allentown Fire and EMS department for equipment purchases, a committee meeting transcript shows.

An Allentown EMS representative told the committee the funding is a yearly allotment and that "Allentown EMS once again applied for the grant, and we were allotted $15,000 for a project not otherwise covered in our budget." The representative said the money will buy four EMS bicycles to replace units older than 10 years and one portable ventilator to assist with transporting ventilator-dependent patients from facilities such as Good Shepherd and the Raker Center.

The chair asked for clarification about the ventilator. The Allentown EMS representative explained facility ventilators are often not portable and that "we're not able to transport them on a ventilator because the ones they have at the facilities are not portable." The representative said the department plans to keep the portable ventilator on a shift supervisor vehicle so it can be mobilized for calls, and noted the department intends to phase in additional ventilators over time: they will start with one because of cost and "seek other funding to try to get that number up to at least 6."

After the presentation and a brief exchange of questions, a committee member moved to advance the item and the motion was seconded. The chair called for the ayes and the motion passed by voice vote; the chair stated the item "will be moved in favorably to the council."

The committee did not record any dissenting comments during the exchange. The next procedural step is consideration by the full city council.