Press Coverage

Lohrville, population 453, has 16 ambulance volunteers
By: Dave DeValois Messenger staff writer, Fort Dodge Messenger
Sunday, March 31, 1991.

Lohrville - Five Years ago the Lohrville ambulance department didn’t exist.    The volunteer Lohrville Fire Department, trained in first aid, pulled double duty and handled ambulance calls in a 1967 station wagon like the one in the movie "Ghostbusters."    Today the volunteer Lohrville Community Ambulance boasts a staff of 16 with a reputation as the quickest responders in Calhoun County.    Their response time is just unreal, said Calhoun County Sheriff Bill Davis.    When there’s an emergency the county dispatcher gives two pages to the ambulance workers. "Usually before they get the second page they’re in the ambulance," Davis said.    The ambulance they drive isn’t quite as modern as they’d like - it’s a 1980 van. But inside the vehicle is $20,000 of emergency equipment that drew rave reviews from a state inspector.    All of that in a town of 453.    Ambulance director Ron Christensen said that he had never been so nervous before the state inspection.    "I was so nervous before the inspection I was sweating," he said. But the state inspector approved all phases of the ambulance service without a problem and praised Lohrville, Christensen said.    "He told me, ‘How can you do this?’ He was impressed with Lohrville. He said we had things in our ambulance that towns five times our size don’t have."    Following the mid-March inspection, Lohrville’s ambulance service was certified for advanced level care by Iowa’s Emergency Medical Service division.    Lohrville has seven Emergency Medical Technicians, five First Responders, and four drivers. The EMTs and First Responders are all certified to operate a defibrillator - an instrument that jumpstarts the heart during cardiac arrest.    By comparison, Lake City, population 1,841, has 18 volunteers on it’s ambulance staff, according to Stewart Memorial Hospital Administrator Ed Maahs. "we’re pleased right now," he said. "It’s a major commitment to take the (training) course."    But other area communities aren’t satisfied. Algona, population 6,015, has 23 volunteers on it’s ambulance crew but only 15 active EMTs according to ambulance director Jerry Simpson.    "We have to run a class every year to maintain a skeleton roster," Simpson said. He said the city is trying to hire a paid technician to handle the day shift.    Manson, population 1,844, has 12 volunteers in its department. Director Maurice Thorns said the city "is always looking for help." The Manson Police Department, with officers trained as First Responders, handles backup duty when ambulance volunteers are out of town, Thorns said.    Lohrville’s ambulance service has taken a giant leap forward in five years, but Christensen said it really took dozens of small steps to get there. Most of all, he said, it took the support of the whole town.    Perhaps the best illustration of Lohrville’s progress is the increase of emergency calls. In the first 2 ½ months of 1991 the ambulance service responded to nine more calls than it took in all of 1988. Here is a breakdown: 1991 - 21 calls through March 21. 1990 - 31 calls. 1989 - 16 calls. 1988 - 12 calls.    The year 1988 is considered the first year Lohrville had a separate ambulance service. Before that volunteer firefighters took the calls.    The first step in upgrading the system was going to the Calhoun County Ambulance Board . The board distributes county money to help subsidize ambulance service. Lohrville’s share has been $2,900 a year but it was not eligible in 1986. The ambulance board said Lohrville needed to make some changes. Among them: An EMT must be present on each ambulance run. The ambulance has to be governed by the Lohrville City Council. Lohrville must charge for services. Before the service was free. Now the minimum charge is $40 plus $1.50 per mile and reimbursement of supplies.    The next step was replacing the outdated 1967 station wagon, which was the town’s only ambulance. "We used to call it Echo 1. Isn’t that the name of the one in Ghostbusters?" Christensen asked.    After shopping around, the city bought a 1980 ambulance for $5,000 in the spring of 1987. Financing came from the Lohrville City Council.    Christensen, who also is a councilman, said the council agreed to extend credit until the ambulance department could pay it back.    Finding dedicated volunteers to serve was the next step. In 1988, Christensen, Doneta Nelsen, Sheila Earwood, and Ann Gemberling were the only staff trained as EMTs.    The training may be the biggest hurdle for potential volunteers. EMT training takes 120 hours of intensive training and almost endless homework, Christensen said.    "We owe a lot of credit to Stewart Memorial Hospital in Lake City," he said. "They sponsored the first school."    After the first four cleared the hurdle, they started recruiting. "We’re a real close-knit town," Christensen said. -Just by word-of-mouth people came up and asked us. The toughest part is to get someone for the schooling."    Schooling is paid for by the state, he said.    "We found some people who are willing to be EMTs," said ambulance driver Joe Berger. "Once that started, it kind of snowballed."    Purchasing a $7,000 defibrillator was among the last steps. The county paid about $4,000 but the rest was raised from local efforts.    The ambulance service collected the rest from dances, open houses, school assemblies and - once again - word-of-mouth-communication.    Now the ambulance service gets donations without any promotions, he said. Many families have donated memorial money left in memory of a loved one to the ambulance.    "The public support has been overwhelming," Christensen said. "It makes you feel pretty good."    Lohrville’s ambulance service has its eyes on a new vehicle in the future costing $15,000 to $20,000. But for now, the service wants to maintain its reputation as the quickest responders in the county.    A quick check of recent dispatch times from the sheriff’s department shows a three-minute response at 1:40 a.m. on March 1, a three-minute response at 6:30 p.m. on March 14 and a two-minute response at 6:20 p.m. on March 18.    During the day, some Lohrville ambulance members claim a response within a minute because three medical technicians work within two blocks of the ambulance garage.    Sheriff’s Captain Don Toms, who lives in Lohrville, backs those claims.    "They are quick," he said. "They’re unbelievable. I rarely get to the sciene first. The only time I beat them out is if I’m there already and call them out. If the call goes out at the same time, they’ll beat me out there."    Christensen said he doesn’t really know why Lohrville is so quick to respond. But he wants to keep that reputation.    "They don’t sleep with their clothes on by any means," he said. "They’re close to the station. And you don’t have to worry about stoplights."