Monongalia Emergency Medical Services (Mon EMS) got a lot of attention last week at the 2024 World EMS Expo in Las Vegas thanks to a new ambulance built for the agency, which features a unique and innovative design.
The new ambulance, manufactured by Road Rescue in Orlando, Florida, features integrated narcotic safes, monitor mounts, space specifically designed as functional storage for biomedical equipment, ballistic vest storage and a door-forward design.
“Mon EMS took the smallest ambulance Road Rescue makes, and by incorporating some really innovative space ideas, made the ambulance feel and function like a much more spacious ambulance,” said Mark Schwartzbauer, sales manager for Road Rescue.
Schwartzbauer added that the design sparked a lot of interest at the expo and many people stopped by the Mon EMS booth to explore the innovations.
“The design was really staff-driven,” said Forest Weyen, director of Mon EMS, “Our providers were able to give individual input and feedback to allow us to work with our vendor to find a good mix of function, safety, and value.”
Weyen said the ambulance was built so the box part of the ambulance can be removed and remounted on a new chassis when the mileage gets to a certain threshold.
He said the agency plans on using the ambulance box for 12–15 years. The ability to remount the box on a new chassis every few years will help with overall costs.
The exact amount of savings is difficult to calculate, but Weyen said that by remounting you pay mainly for the chassis, the remount cost and replacement of any major systems — resulting in 40-60% savings from a brand-new ambulance.
A brand-new ambulance, without equipment, radios and supplies, would cost around $340,000 with another $160,000 added for those additional fixtures.
EMS World Expo is the leading educational event for emergency medical service providers worldwide. It is where leaders and educators in EMS gather each year to discuss evolving treatment strategies, share technological breakthroughs and explore procedures that can advance the lives of patients.
This year, more than 6,000 EMS professionals attended the five-day event from Sept. 9–13.
“The team at Mon EMS was amazing to work with and their thoughtful, efficient and economic design really was something worth showing off,” said Casey Walker, vice president of ambulance sales for Atlantic Emergency Solutions. “We were excited that Mon EMS allowed us to exhibit their hard work to the rest of the EMS community.”
Weyen said the new ambulance is in transit from Las Vegas but will make a stop in Ohio at the dealer to get a few final things installed.
“We hope to take delivery within the next 2-4 weeks,” he said.
Once it arrives in Morgantown, it will need to be stocked and inspected by the West Virginia Office of EMS. Once licensed by WVOEMS, it will be approved for operation.
“We are honored and humbled to be asked to feature our ambulance at EMS World,” Weyen said. “It really shows that what we are doing in our little corner of the world truly is making an impact on the EMS industry.”
TWEET @DominionPostWV
