Our
History
The McClusky Rural Ambulance District’s history begins in July of 1966 when the City and Rural Fire Departments recognized the need to provide emergency medical services to the citizens of McClusky and the surrounding area after a private provider discontinued services. The fire departments raised funds through fundraisers and donations from the City of McClusky businesses and area residents and purchased a 1962 Chevrolet station wagon as the first unit of the ambulance service. This unit served the residents of the area well until 1974 when a new ambulance was purchased. This second unit of the ambulance service was a Chevrolet van purchased for $6,000 and equipped with modern equipment to provide adequate emergency treatment to the sick or injured patients. Several members of the fire departments train on their own time in order to provide this emergency service to the public.
As the years went by, we saw advancements in training needed and equipment required to provide emergency medical care to the residents of the service area. The ambulance service again saw a need to upgrade to a new ambulance unit. A special public informational meeting was held on July 1, 1985 for the purpose of discussing the purchase of a new ambulance unit. It was decided to begin fundraising for the purchase of a new ambulance unit. The old 1974 unit will be stripped of the equipment and raffled off. The new 1986 model ambulance was ordered with a purchase price of $30, 236. An open house was held for the public to tour the new unit in January of 1986.
The McClusky Ambulance Service separated from the fire departments and became the McClusky Ambulance Service, Incorporated with the first annual meeting being held in January of 1979. At the January 21, 1988 Annual Meeting of the McClusky Ambulance Service, Inc. it was decided to petition for a proposed McClusky Rural Ambulance Service District. This was approved and petitions were taken out and the measure was placed on the June 1988 ballot where it passed. A re-organizational meeting of the McClusky Ambulance Service, Inc. was held on July 13, 1988 when the new board of directors for the McClusky Rural Ambulance District was elected.
Early in 1999 the ambulance district began looking for a new ambulance unit to replace the 1986 unit. The 1986 unit has served us well but we have begun having mechanical problems with the unit. Several different models were looked at again and the district decided on a 1999 demo unit. We again went through a major fundraising campaign where we held fundraisers, applied for grants and accepted donations from area businesses and residents. The new ambulance was delivered to the district on Tuesday, August 15, 2000. This new ambulance cost $91, 879. This unit is a large unit with the box-shaped patient care area. With the advancements made in the training required of the squad members and the advancements in the equipment carried on the ambulance, a larger unit was needed to carry the equipment and to have room for patient care. In mid 2017 we again decided it was time to begin looking for a new ambulance. We are still operating with the 1999 model but it is beginning to show its wear. We viewed a demo unit on October 4, 2017 and liked what we saw. We decided to purchase it. It was delivered on Wednesday, March 21, 2018. Prices have certainly gone up. This new rig cost us $202,000. This includes the $20,000 Power Load system for loading the cot and patients.
With the fire department purchasing new trucks and equipment we began experiencing crowding issues in the fire hall where the ambulance is parked. In July of 2006 the ambulance district began exploring the possibility of adding on another garage to the existing city building. Some members of the district presented computer generated models of this addition to the city council in August of 2006. After this presentation and discussion, the district decided to look into building a completely separate facility of their own. In March of 2007 the district purchased 4 lots located on Main Street where the old McClusky creamery had been located in years prior. and in April of 2007 we decided to accept the proposal from Morton Buildings for the new garage and training center. Construction of the new building started in March 2008 and the ambulance service moved in later that year. In the new building we now have our own garage, storage room, laundry/decontamination room, training/meeting room, kitchen facility, office and restrooms.
From the beginning days of transporting a patient on a stretcher in the back of a small station wagon unit equipped with oxygen and minimal first aid supplies, the ambulance district has evolved into a modern day emergency medical service with a large, well equipped ambulance with well trained attendants. The ambulance attendants are trained as Emergency Medical Technicians who are trained in giving emergency medical care to the sick and injured. Today this basic care involves not only the beginning foundation of administering oxygen and basic first aid, but also involves more advanced treatments such as cardiac defibrillation of patients who are in cardiac arrest or the administration of epinephrine to patients who are having a severe allergic reaction to delivering Naloxone for Opioid overdose.