OL seeks funding for tech equipment, ambulances

A need to keep pace with new 911 software and an aging fleet of ambulances put Putnam County Operation Life (OL) on the agenda of the Putnam County Commissioners on Tuesday.

For Executive Director Eric Claflin, the real answers will come when he visits the Putnam County Council on July 19.

The more immediate need for the Greencastle-based ambulance service is new computer equipment that is compatible with the recently-upgraded software of Putnam County 911 Dispatch.

Although the system is now in place and being utilized by local fire and police agencies, Claflin said his department lacks the equipment to utilize it.

"We need to be able to utilize the system -- especially the mapping," Claflin said.

The mapping aspect of the system would not only help guide ambulance drivers on the fastest route to a call but, perhaps more importantly, help dispatchers know exactly which ambulance to send to a call based on its current location.

In current arrangement involves dispatchers paging OL medics, with personnel then deciding which ambulance to send.

With the ambulances fully integrated, the dispatchers would have the location and estimated travel times of ambulances at their disposal. Claflin estimated that such information could save two minutes per call -- precious time in a medical emergency.

Claflin said the ambulance service needs three mobile data terminals, as well as an upgrade for a fourth.

They will also need three Dell tablets rugged enough to withstand the punishment they will take in an emergency medical environment.

"It was explained to us that we could buy an off-the-shelf Windows-based model (tablet)," Claflin said. "I would estimate that an off-the-shelf model would last one week."

"One week?" Commissioner David Berry interjected.

"One week," Claflin replied. "It will get dropped. It will get wet. Someone will throw up on it."

Claflin also said that the reports for each run take approximately 90 minutes to complete. With hardware that is fully integrated in the system, he said that more of the information can be entered into the system on location.

This should save on personnel coming in the following day and using overtime to complete reports, Claflin said.

The cost for these upgrades will be $10,500. The commissioners gave their blessing, but the final decision will be up to the council at its meeting.

A larger, longer-term cost for the emergency medical service is the need for new ambulances.

"Our fleet situation is tenuous, to say the least," Claflin said.

He said only two OL ambulances have fewer than 200,000 miles and one of these is a 15-year-old model purchased used from another agency.

While ambulances are extremely pricey -- a new unit estimated at more than $180,000 -- Claflin proposed the price-saving measure of keeping two body boxes from old ambulances and putting them on new chassis.

This would reduce the cost to $136,000 per ambulance.

The commissioners also gave their blessing to take this to the council, although the larger cost raises some questions about the funding source.

Possibilities discussed included the Hazardous Waste Fund as well as the new Public Safety Local Option Income Tax. In both cases, though, the balance may be lower than necessary to cover such costs.