Letter to the Editor-Reader Takes Issue with Talk of Ambulance Funding

Reader Takes Issue with Talk of Ambulance Funding

Regarding the issue of ambulance service in Clare County. How soon we forget! At one time we had a very efficient ambulance service here in our county. They had two stations manned by crews, they could be augmented by toned out individuals that monitored the calls. It was United Rescue Service, at one time my son was an EMT employed by United Rescue Service.

We had a growing need for ambulance service in the area however a "financial" situation arose with the ambulance service. As a result, a millage request was on the ballot in the 1990s, it was vehemently opposed by an entity NOT based in Clare County. This entity spent a tremendous amount of money in opposing the millage, including numerous fancy mailings, some with cartoon like caricatures of United ambulances with dollar bills flowing out of open rear doors. That entity was none other than Mobile Medical Response, known as MMR. They stationed ambulances all around our area so as to beat out United Rescue Service on every call for ambulance service in the county! United Rescue Service could not compete and had to be closed and assets liquidated.

Now we were left with an ambulance service whose personnel were NOT at all familiar with our county. They were dispatched from the Saginaw headquarters after receiving calls from our local central dispatch. In closing, the millage request to allow United Rescue Service to continue was defeated by a rather small margin. It was a pittance of a millage compared to the norm, now we are again looking at a millage request. I wonder who will post an expensive opposition campaign against a millage this time? Surely not same one as was the last time!

Fred Baxter

Harrison