Grant buys 20 car seats and boosters for Marion County Ambulance District; another grant could buy radios

HANNIBAL, Mo. — Grants have meant new car seats and boosters for the Marion County Ambulance District’s child passenger restraint program, and they could mean new radios.

The two grants were discussed during the recent Marion County Ambulance District Board of Directors meeting, at which the board also approved new insurance for employees and heard an update on the new mobile command unit.

Chief John Nemes reported a grant from the Northeast Coalition for Roadway Safety for $1,938.32 has been used to buy 20 car seats and boosters for the child passenger restraint program. He noted an assortment of car and booster seats had been ordered, and he thanked Capt. Chris Kelle for his work in acquiring the grant.

Nemes also reported he had written a grant for $101,383.82 and submitted it to the Department of Health and Senior Services. If approved, it will be used to buy radios and chargers for the district.

“The EMS specific grant is open to all EMS agencies on a first-come, first-served basis, and is a 90-10 grant,” he said. “If approved, the district will receive $91,244.54 of that purchase, leaving us about $10,000 to pay. There’s a good chance we’ll get the grant.”

In other business, the board approved going with Angle Health as the district’s new insurance carrier.

“We’ve experienced a lot of problems with Exemplar, and if we stick with them, First State Insurance Agency will no longer be our broker, so we’ll lose our local support,” Nemes said, noting cost-wise there isn’t much difference in the Angle Health and Exemplar’s renewal rate.

He also noted the district will still be offering the same assistance on the deductibles and on dependent coverage to employees. The new plan will be a 13-month plan to get the district to the point of renewing insurance in January rather than in December, he added.

In his report, Nemes said the new mobile command bus is operational and used during the Hannibal Folklife Festival.

“It’s going to give us a lot more opportunities to get out there with the public,” he said, adding the district plans to utilize the new unit as well as the district’s current mobile unit during events like National Tom Sawyer Days to cover more area.

The 50^th anniversary celebration of the Marion and Ralls County Ambulance Districts was a success, Nemes said, noting that in additional to local people, the guests included a founding board member, Fred Tonnnies; and a former paramedic who came from Lubbock, Texas, for the event.

He also noted special awards were given to Larry Tharp for his years of service to the district and to Tom Rupp for his years of service as a board member.

“We also want to give special recognition to Rhonda Beck for her hard work in making the celebration a success,” he said.

Nemes also reported 519 calls for emergency services answered by the district in September. Of those, Base 1 (Hannibal-2711) handled 139; Base 1 (2721), 147; Base 2 (Hannibal), 149; and Base 3 (Palmyra), 63. There were 21 off-duty transfers.

Information for this story was provided by Patty Cheffey, former owner of the Palmyra Spectator newspaper. She now is on the administrative team for the Marion County Ambulance District.