A steady increase in the number of calls to Polk County’s Emergency Medical Service has made the addition of a third staffed ambulance a much-needed priority.

With the newly adopted and effective budget for Polk County, the ambulance will be placed in the Mill Spring area and will serve the surrounding communities. The third ambulance will be staffed throughout the year. The county has been served by two ambulances, located in Columbus, in the past.

“Situations keep rising in which ambulances are tied up, and in some cases, lower acuity calls have to wait. By increasing our staff, and thus response, more coverage and faster response has occurred,” said Polk County EMS Director Michael Crater.

Crater said that Polk County residence will now see a faster response time to more distance areas and will have more paramedics to handle emergencies.

“Polk County EMS has not had growth since before 2015, which only included additional staff, not another unit,” Crater said. “In contrast, our surrounding counties have more stations and units on the road. Our population has increased, our transfers from our local hospital has increased, traffic accidents and medical emergencies alone have increased, so this increase in services will greatly benefit the citizens of Polk County.”