WVU Medicine to improve ambulance service in Mon County

In an effort to improve access to care in Monongalia County, WVU Medicine and HealthTeam Critical Care Transport, a subsidiary of HealthNet Aeromedical Services, are partnering to add another ambulance service in the county.

New ambulances will be housed at stations in Westover, Cheat Lake, Clinton District, and Blacksville with the goal of decreasing response times for patients throughout the county. Along with the stations, WVU Medicine has purchased new ambulances with a total capital investment in excess of $2 million.

Monongalia County currently uses three ambulance services, which all leave from a central location.

Along with faster response times, the new service offers critical care, the highest level of care available, and a communication system that allows providers to talk to the ambulance crew in the field.

“Minutes matter,” said Valerie Boley, director of Emergency Services at WVU Medicine J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital. “Every minute matters. The faster you can respond and be at the bedside, the better the outcomes that patient is going to have.”

The WVU Medicine ambulance service will create 100 new jobs, according to Clinton Burley, president and CEO of HealthNet.