Elma raising funds to bring ambulance to town

(ABC 6 NEWS) – Since May 2021, the small town of Elma has been raising $250,000 to bring an ambulance to town.

Elma had about 100 calls for an ambulance in 2021. Currently, they are about halfway to their fundraising goal.

Regional Health Services of Howard County is providing the staff and ambulance, but the actual building portion is being funded only by donations and fundraisers.

Right now it takes about 30 minutes for an ambulance to get to Elma, but if there was one in town it would only be a few minutes away.

"An accident or even a heart attack or any amount of time is critical. If you lose 20 minutes of transit and given our ambulance services in the area they are great at what they do but if you lose that 20 minutes of transport it can make a difference in the outcome," Firefighters, Jake Burke and Earl Martin said.

One of the main questions the community had is how the service will work in regards to where it will take them.

"They will transfer you to wherever you want to go unless it is a life-threatening situation then the paramedic makes the call and they will go to the closest," Burke said.

Their next fundraiser is set for April, but donations are accepted at any time.

You can learn more here.