Improve Montclair's Ambulance Coverage!
Montclair is a town of 40,000 people. With a population that large, we believe we should have 2 ambulances in service 24/7.
Right now, we only have 1 ambulance running on evenings (6pm - 8am) and weekends.
If our 1 ambulance is out on a call, a second emergency has to be handled by a neighboring volunteer squad. This increases typical response times from 4-8 minutes to 15-40 minutes.
Many people don’t know that most ambulance units are not funded by town tax dollars. Montclair Ambulance Unit is a non-profit—funded solely by donations and reimbursements from insurance. So, in order to staff and run a second ambulance 24/7, we need to raise funds.
As moms whose families have been affected by these limited emergency resources, this cause is very personal to us. Early labor, anaphylactic allergic reactions, head trauma, febrile seizures, heart attack, stroke, overdose, car accidents: there are so many instances where a wait of 15-40 minutes can mean the difference between life and death.
When one mom in our group went into preterm labor at home, the Montclair ambulance arrived quickly. She was bleeding heavily and needed to be immediately transported to the hospital. She was told a second ambulance would be following with her newborn daughter. But it was evening, so unbeknownst to her, there was only one ambulance available in Montclair during those hours. That meant her daughter had to wait for a neighboring town’s ambulance to arrive. It took about 30 MINUTES for a second ambulance to arrive. For a premature baby who desperately needed care, it was too long. In the end, tragically the baby girl did not survive. A baby born so prematurely always has a long, hard fight ahead, but every extra minute of health care can make a difference in the outcome. Montclair Ambulance followed all protocol during this heartbreaking emergency, but there simply wasn’t a second ambulance readily available at the time. That’s why our group came together - we want to change that.
To do that, we need to raise money. Montclair has a second ambulance available--but needs the funds to fully staff and supply it. With $100,000, Montclair will be able to fully staff and supply a second ambulance 24/7 for a year. Any additional funding will continue to keep the ambulance running for longer. If we don't hit 100K, all money will still be used to increase ambulance coverage in Montclair, by increasing the hours that we have 2 ambulances running.
We want to be clear that we are huge proponents of the Montclair Ambulance Unit. We feel very lucky to live in a town that staffs professional, experienced EMT's on their ambulances. We simply want MORE of them! We are working with the head of the Montclair Ambulance Unit on this cause, and all money donated here goes directly to the Montclair Ambulance Unit, straight from GoFundMe.
The Montclair Ambulance Unit is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, so your support is tax deductible. MAU's charitable tax ID # is 221713685.
Please follow us @ Montclair Ambulance Advocacy on Facebook for updates on our efforts. We thank you so much for your support.
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