New ambulance rates adopted

The Grand Coulee city council last week adopted new ambulance rates for 2018, adopting slight increases and providing different rates for non-residents.

Beginning Jan. 1, ambulance attendants will be paid $15 an hour for their services.

The new charges as adopted are below.

Grand Coulee’s Volunteer Fire Department has made 374 ambulance calls so far this year, according to a report made to the city council last Tuesday night.

Fire Chief Richard Paris stated that 50 ambulance calls were made during the month of September. Of those, nine were made in Coulee Dam, 31 in Grand Coulee, and 10 were transports of patients.

Meanwhile the city’s volunteer fire department didn’t have any fire calls during the month of September.

Service Resident Non-resident

Basic life support base rate,

one way, with one client $375 $400

Return pickup or second transport

of same client in same

24-hour period $325 $400

Additional client $325 $400

Ground ambulance service,

per patient mile, one way $14 $14

Waiting time, one-half hour

increments, billed after

first 30 minutes $60 $60

Extra attendant, as needed

for proper care or safety $60 $60

Call out charge,

no service rendered

(ambulance director’s discretion) $190 $190