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Presenter says Aliceville will contribute $2,800 monthly to county ambulance coverage while pursuing local service
Summary
A city presenter said Lamar County is currently providing ambulance coverage and the city council approved contributing about $2,800 per month as a subsidy while officials pursue a local ambulance truck or station; the presenter cited call-volume challenges and long hospital travel times.
A city presenter told residents that county-run ambulance coverage has replaced the former provider and that the city will help pay for continued service while it seeks a more local solution. The presenter said Lamar County is assisting with emergency calls and reported roughly 170 calls with about 140 responses during a recent reporting period, and that the county commission has been covering the cost in the interim.
The presenter said the city council approved including a monthly allocation of about $2,800 in the city budget to subsidize the county ambulance service, and that officials are pursuing the possibility of a second ambulance truck to be stationed closer to town. "We're pushing for hopefully there will be a second truck that comes... and be in Aliceville," the presenter said.
Officials emphasized the geographic challenge: travel to larger hospitals can take about an hour to Tuscaloosa and roughly 45 minutes to Columbus, which the presenter said places Aliceville at a disadvantage for serious cases and motivates efforts to improve local response capacity. The presenter urged residents to reserve 911 for true emergencies because an ambulance out of service can take two to three hours to return to service when it must travel to distant hospitals.
The presenter said the city will continue its subsidy until a local service can sustain itself and predicted the service might become self-sustaining in roughly six months if additional resources arrive. No formal timetable or contract with a new local provider was provided during the update.
Next steps: the presenter said he and council members are in talks with the county commission and local commissioners about stationing additional resources and will post updates to the city's social media once arrangements are official.
