BOLIVAR PENINSULA — It’s been almost two months since the county funded three full-time medics to improve sketchy ambulance service on Bolivar Peninsula, but residents say ambulance service has not gotten any better.

That’s because the jobs, posted since the end of May, have not been filled.

Kurt Koopmann, spokesman for the health district, said one applicant likely will be hired soon if the results of a physical clear him for the job.

Three applicants have applied for the two remaining positions, but county officials have not sifted through those applications yet, Koopmann said.

The county judge and commissioners in late May voted to spend $178,000 on salaries, equipment and supplies until the end of the fiscal year in August to improve ambulance service on the peninsula.

It’s tough to get an ambulance during daylight hours on the peninsula because the only medics are volunteers who work off the peninsula and can’t easily respond to emergencies, county officials have said.

The county chose to fund three full-time medics rather than hire a full-time ambulance service because it was cheaper, according to numbers collected by Curtiss Brown, the county’s community services director.

The full-time medics, based at Crystal Beach Volunteer Fire Department on South Monkhouse Drive, will work weekdays. Two medics will work from midnight to noon, while one medic will work between noon and midnight.

www.galvnews.com

For More Information Contact:

Kurt Koopmann