LAKESIDE — Lakeside’s Quick Response Unit has been answering the call for emergency medical services for 38 years.
A newly formed partnership with South Kalispell Fire District will expand their service area helping those in need.
The new partnership allows Lakeside to provide dedicated ambulance service to south Kalispell.
Lakeside Quick Response Unit executive director Jordan Owen said his unit responds to more than 400 emergency dispatch calls a year.
He says an increasing number of emergency dispatches have been placed in the north Somers, lower valley area.
Owen said the collaboration with South Kalispell allows Lakeside to receive grant funding through the Montana Department of Transportation for a third ambulance.
Owen said the new ambulance is badly needed in south Kalispell and should arrive in the next few months.
“I understand that there was somewhere close to 40 applicants and 3 awards, and we were lucky enough to get that third ambulance, and that will absolutely help mechanize this new venture that we have with South Kalispell Fire,” said Owen.
Owen added that his team is looking to move one of two existing ambulances into south Kalispell for the time being while they wait for the new ambulance to arrive.
