MCLEANSBORO – The Hamilton County Ambulance Service in McLeansboro now has a four-wheel drive ambulance that will allow emergency responders to get to emergencies wherever they may be in the county.

Nathan Taylor is the President of the Hamilton County Ambulance Board. He says they were able to purchase the ambulance through a USDA Rural Development Grant that the board applied for about a year and a half ago. The ambulance service was awarded $210,800 with most of that money going toward the ambulance.

The grant also called for purchasing life-saving equipment for the ambulance. Taylor says they were able to buy a power load system, stretcher, a stair chair and a cardiac monitor that can relay a patient’s information to the hospital using the internet.

Even though news of the grant has now just been circulating through local media, Taylor says they received the grant some time ago and USDA fronted the money so the ambulance service could go ahead and get the new equipment.

The ambulance has been in service in Hamilton County for a few months now. Taylor thanked the USDA and the ambulance service board for making this purchase possible.

Taylor reiterated that the Hamilton County Ambulance Service is a nonprofit organization and has no attachment to the county other than its a contracted service through the county.