WGH Receives Grant & Purchases Toyota Tacomas for Ambulance Service

Wabash General Hospital Receives Grant & Purchases Toyota Tacomas for Ambulance Service

(May 23, 2023) In the Fall of 2022, Wabash General Hospital received an $85,000 grant through the Illinois Community Access Hospital Network (ICAHN) as they dispersed funding via the Small Rural Hospital Improvement Program (SHIP) COVID-19 Testing and Mitigation Program. With the grant, Wabash General Hospital purchased two 2022 Toyota Tacomas for the ambulance service with the intention of fitting them into two Advanced Life Support (ALS) non-transport EMS vehicles. This type of vehicle responds to and provides emergency medical services without the ability to transport patients.

Wabash General Ambulance Service currently uses the Tacoma’s for several specific functions within this general understanding:

• As rapid response vehicles assist an ambulance where they need additional hands on a 911 scene.
• When there are less than two ambulances staffed to the level of ALS available, they can assist a Basic Life Support (BLS) ambulance by providing ALS care on scene and then riding with them to the hospital.
• When both our ambulances are unavailable due to a high call volume and an additional 911 call comes in, they can respond to the scene to assess and treat patients prior to the arrival of a mutual aid ambulance. They can do so because they carry all the equipment and medications that an ALS ambulance carries.
• They are outfitted to be used for search and rescue operations.
• They can be used as a Command Vehicle in mass casualty incidents.
• They can be utilized for stand-by events that need medical coverage (e.g., Football Games, Ag Days).