Big Ambulance
Small Ambulance
Saturday, March 31, 2018
WELCOME
The American EMS system is full of big ambulances. That's what we're used to. But there are a number of reasons that "downsizing" to smaller ambulances is a good idea. Our mission is to explore those reasons, and to look for and share good ideas that make the tighter space of a small ambulance workable.
PURCHASE PRICE
Larger ambulances that are a box on the back of a truck or van chassis are called Type I and Type III respectively. An ambulance that is a modified van is called a Type II. Type I and III ambulances easily cost $160,000 to $200,000. Type II van ambulances are typically half that cost.
For that much money you think you'd get a reliable vehicle, one that would perform without problems for many years. Unfortunately ambulances are pieces of crap. Not really, but they are very complex mechanically and electrically, and they are prone to either breakdowns or at the very least "gremlins" very early in their life, and it only gets worse with time.
Ambulances that break down on the way to a 9-1-1 emergency, or while transporting a sick patient to the hospital can literally cost lives. How can we defend accepting that risk? As an ambulance ages it is significantly more prone to such breakdowns. It stands to reason that for the same amount of money, you can replace a Type II ambulance in half the time that you would replace an ambulance that costs twice as much.
Unless your EMS service has the luxury of in-house mechanics, who are expert ambulance technicians, replacing an ambulance for a newer model as frequently as possible is an issue that can impact patient care. If a smaller Type II ambulance can perform the same work as a Type I or III, and we can afford to replace it more frequently than a more expensive ambulance, this is a smart move.
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| TYPE I |
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| TYPE II |
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| TYPE III |
Ambulances that break down on the way to a 9-1-1 emergency, or while transporting a sick patient to the hospital can literally cost lives. How can we defend accepting that risk? As an ambulance ages it is significantly more prone to such breakdowns. It stands to reason that for the same amount of money, you can replace a Type II ambulance in half the time that you would replace an ambulance that costs twice as much.
Unless your EMS service has the luxury of in-house mechanics, who are expert ambulance technicians, replacing an ambulance for a newer model as frequently as possible is an issue that can impact patient care. If a smaller Type II ambulance can perform the same work as a Type I or III, and we can afford to replace it more frequently than a more expensive ambulance, this is a smart move.
Thursday, March 29, 2018
ABOUT
I'm Clay, the moderator of the Small Ambulance Society Blog. I've been a paramedic since 1984. I've worked in a lot of EMS systems over the years, and I've been in a LOT of ambulances.
As the manager of an ambulance service now, I have to balance a lot of different factors when we consider ambulance purchases. Purchase price, fuel economy, safety, maintenance costs and other factors come into play. I've come to appreciate the multiple advantages of the smaller (what we call Type II) ambulances.
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| Some of them were big (even HUGE) |
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| Some of them were REALLY small inside |
As the manager of an ambulance service now, I have to balance a lot of different factors when we consider ambulance purchases. Purchase price, fuel economy, safety, maintenance costs and other factors come into play. I've come to appreciate the multiple advantages of the smaller (what we call Type II) ambulances.
A lot of folks don't like them. I hope to change that mindset. It's not an easy task. Our ambulance service in rural Vermont has run two Mercedes Benz Spinter ambulances as front line 9-1-1 trucks for the past three years. Initially our crews weren't happy. But now they like them. So it is possible change some people's minds.
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