Unity Service Ambulance will be 25 years old in November, 2003.
It's amazing how little our group's goals, needs and ideas have changed since we
incorporated on November 8, 1978. See "New in 1978"
for the Times article and a photo from back then.
For the last 24 some years we have been the primary
provider of emergency care for the residents of South Harrison Township. Over the
years, the level of our emergency medical training, and the skills of our members have
continuously increased. Similarly, our emergency equipment and supplies have vastly
improved in both quality and quantity.
We started the Squad in 1978 with a used
"Caddy" Ambulance (see "New in 1978").
Great ride, but very small inside.
Essentially it was a station wagon with a
stretcher.
In 1986,
a 1976 Chevy "box" type ambulance was donated to us. It had outlived it's
usefulness to the previous owner, and was destined for the scrap heap. We fixed it
up, gave it a paint job, and put it in service.
It served us well till we saved
enough money to purchase a new rig in the fall of 1990.
In 1990 we
finally had enough saved, and with additional loans, were able to purchase
a 1991 Lifeline Ambulance. We all agreed, after looking at a
number of vendors, that when the decision was made and the truck rolled up, we would all
love it. We did. It served us well for over 10 years. The Ford Chassis
had some problems with throwing belts, but then, it IS a
FORD. The "box" was excellent.
In January. 2002, we took
delivery of a new PL Custom Ambulance.
(Click the picture for more
information and pictures)
At
a cost of about $140,000 - about twice the cost of our 1991- the new
truck came fully equipped with all the "options" we added to our
Lifeline (starting only days after it was received) and those we found we
really would have/should have had installed on it.
We
have a great light package, (cars actually move over when we approach),
skylights to brighten up the interior, and side windows so we can see what
is happening outside the truck.
We
have a number of additional safety features (which include the windows and
lights) such as an air horn, rear-view back-up camera, alarms, power step,
two radios, and excellent interior lighting and layout.
