Hospital foundation puts in bid for new clinic – and ambulances

As well as seeking funding for a hospital building in Sundance, Representative Tyler Lindholm and Senator Ogden Driskill told Crook County Medical Services District trustees a couple of weeks ago that they would like to put in a separate bid to fund a new clinic in Hulett.

With that in mind, the Hospital Foundation was asked to prepare a letter of support, detailing what would be needed to complete the project. Judy Hutchinson, chairman of the foundation, reported last week that this letter has been sent.

“We did some final plans – we hope final plans – with our architects the other day,” she reported. A few minor changes were included in those plans, she said, such as to change the ambulance bay so it would be a drive-through instead of requiring vehicles to back in; to add a decontamination shower; and to rearrange the size of a couple of rooms.

In the letter, said Hutchinson, the foundation included a request for two ambulances, a need that has been plaguing the Sundance ambulance service for some time.

“If we can get one, I’ll be really happy, but we did put in for two,” she said.

However, Hutchinson warned, obtaining a new ambulance is not something that would likely happen quickly. In conversation with a couple of ambulance companies to get ballpark figures for the letter, she discovered that everything has currently been sold – even the demo vehicles on the floor.

“Everything has gone to New York,” she said, although it’s probable that some of these extra vehicles will be turned loose once they are no longer needed. However, this is not likely to happen in the immediate future, she added.

Just getting an order in would be a start, Hutchinson said, even if it’s a while before they would actually arrive in Crook County.

“We’re hoping for the best, and we’re hoping we can get a new ambulance,” she said.