Point Roberts fire district commissioners approved two resolutions at their regular monthly meeting December 13 that will make things financially easier for residents who undergo medical emergencies and require land transport for care.
Effective immediately, the district will no longer charge for ambulance transport to St. Joseph PeaceHeath Medical Center in Bellingham. This applies only to transport by Point Roberts fire district personnel. Evacuation by helicopter or transfer to another agency between the Point and Bellingham will still incur charges from those agencies. Patients will be told upfront.
The district is also introducing the Welcome Home transport program. Patients returning to the Point but have no transportation will be able to call on the fire district for a ride home. According to fire chief Christopher Carleton, it is not unusual for individuals to refuse to go to the hospital because they won’t have a ride home.
“I can’t tell you the number of times people have refused to go because they have no way of getting home. There have been hundreds over the 12 years I’ve been on the district,” he said.
Carleton said a big benefit of the new program would be to get people the care they need when they need it, not when it’s too late or has led to serious but avoidable consequences.
The district is looking to acquire an all-wheel van such as a Toyota hybrid that would allow transport in all weather conditions. Drivers would be paid a stipend for each trip.
Carleton said the two programs are complementary; neither would work as well without the other.
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