After months of working out the details with Daviess Community Hospital, the Daviess County Commissioners approved an exclusive service agreement making DCH the County’s official EMS service provider. The agreement calls for four fully staffed ambulances to be on call at all times. Two ambulances will based in Washington, with one each based at locations in Odon and Cannelburg. There will also be two other ambulances on standby status. Sheriff’s Department logs show that the largest number of ambulance calls come from the Washington area, with The Odon area next, and the eastern area of the county along the U.S. 50 corridor generating the third largest number of calls. Commissioner Nathan Gabhart also emphasized that the ambulances will take stable patients to the hospital of the patients’ choice. However, for unstable patients, EMS personnel will determine which hospital is the most appropriate for for the situation. Hospital representatives say the new ambulance service should be ready to take over EMS operations in 120 days from the signing of the contract.
