By Megan Kelley
Clarkston News Editor
mkelley@mihomepaper.com
INDEPENDENCE TWP. — At its meeting on March 19, the Independence Township Board of Trustees unanimously approved two requests from the township fire department for ventilators and an ambulance cot.
The request, from Fire Chief Dave Piché, includes four Zoll Z Vent portable ventilators and related accessories for $62,430 and a four year service plan for $21,906, for a grand total of $84,336.
“This is to replace what we have, the portable disposable ones from before. This new machine actually does more functions and provides better care, better outcome for our patients,” Piché said.
In the township’s 2024 Capital Improvement Plan Budget, $90,000 was budgeted for the purchase of new portable ventilators.
Additionally, the board unanimously approved a budget amendment in the amount of $58,200 to purchase one Stryker Power-PRO XT ambulance cot and an MTS Power Load system for the ambulance purchase that was approved in November of 2022. The power cot itself costs $58,198.16.
“In any of our rescues, we have a power load system that raises the cot that the patient’s on from the ground up into the rescue. Obviously, that helps our firefighters not have to lift patients up and down all day long. It protects their health and safety,” Piché said. “We have a new rescue that’s coming in in May of 2024 and this will be the power load system that will go in that particular vehicle. All our other vehicles do have this exact same system. It’s a proprietary system, there’s no other one out there in terms of power cots.”
The board expressed support for the budget amendment.
“Anybody that doesn’t think this is necessary for any reason, they should go on a run with you guys and lift somebody into the ambulance because once I watched that a couple times, I was sold that we definitely want these on all of our vehicles,” Trustee Ronald Ritchie said.