Cross Road Asks You To Contact State Legislators For Help Funding Ambulances

HARD TIMES FOR EMERGENCY SERVICES 
State Extends Funding Of Copper Valley EMS  Services From April To June 30th 

BUT..."There Will Be No Ambulance Service In Our Area" If We Don't Get More Funding 

Please Lobby Your Legislators...Today  

The State of Alaska has agreed to extend EMS ambulance funding in the Copper Valley for three extra months until the beginning of summer. 

This is a small reprieve – as the Copper Valley slips into the possibility of completely losing EMS ambulance service in a 22,000-square mile area. 

Roads of the region include: the Richardson Highway, the Glenn Highway, the Tok Cutoff, the McCarthy Road, the Nabesna Road, Lake Louise Road, and the Old Edgerton. 

Communities and villages are scattered throughout the Copper Valley. 

On Thursday, February 15th, Amber White, owner of Delta Medical Transport, told the Copper River Country Journal that ambulance service in the Copper Valley is not planned to terminate until the end of June, 2024. 

It's a 3-month extension from the expected termination of ambulance service this spring. 

 Delta Medical told the Country Journal the following:

"My understanding from Steve Gallagher at Cross Road is that they will have funding for two ALS ambulances through June 30th. We’re going to gear up a second ambulance April 1st as our goal. And we’ll have it for three months. What happens after that I don’t know."

On February 16th, Steve Gallagher, CEO of Cross Road Health Ministries, which contracts the ambulance services, wrote the Journal (in response to a request for information) to say that there's been an extension of ambulance services in the Copper Valley until the beginning of July, 2024. 

Gallagher said the state agreed to fund the ambulances until then. Here's his message to the public: 

Cross Road Requests Public To Contact State Representatives For Help Funding EMS: 

"After meetings with federal representatives, state representatives and personnel and those involved with Copper River Healthcare, then separate task force, Cross Road Health Ministries was able to receive funding from the State to fund EMS for the Copper River Valley from April 1, 2024 to June 30,2024 with two ALS crews.

"Cross Road has never before received any funding for EMS from the community, nor the state, although the community provided some funding years ago to the previous EMS services.

"We do not have the funding necessary to contract for ongoing EMS service.

"Rural Alaska Emergency Services, a new nonprofit unassociated with CRHM, will be seeking funds from the State of Alaska for EMS services.

"We need everyone to call their state representatives and ask for this funding. If you know anyone in the Mat-Su Valley, Anchorage or Fairbanks that use our areas for hunting, fishing, or recreating, please inform them that as of July 1, 2024 there will be no ambulance service in our area. Encourage them to contact their representatives to fund this essential service for all Alaskan and tourists."

SEE JOURNAL STORY ABOUT MARCH DEADLINE:

 https://www.countryjournal2020.com/2023/06/ems-program-funded-here-into-first-few.html

The deadline for terminating ambulance service in Glennallen to the Copper Valley has been pushed back several times. For many decades, ambulance service from Glennallen was operated almost exclusively by community volunteers. 

SEE OTHER JOURNAL "AMBULANCE" STORIES HERE:

https://www.countryjournal2020.com/search?q=AMBULANCE+