West Concord Ambulance takes over daytime coverage
ALEX MALM
STAFF WRITER
For more than a year the West Concord Ambulance has relied on Dodge Center Ambulance to provide daytime coverage for its ambulance.
Under state law, ambulances are required to have two people available at all times, in order to be considered a transport service, something West Concord struggled with due to a lack of volunteers during the day who were able to commit to leaving for large periods of time.
But after a full-time ambulance director was hired, West Concord is no longer expected to rely regularly on Dodge Center.
“On April 1, 2025, starting at 5 a.m., the West Concord Fire and Ambulance Department resumed 24-hour transport service for our service area,” West Concord Ambulance Director Adam La Plount wrote in an email. “This ended the service contract that we had with Dodge Center Ambulance Service for daytime coverage.”
Since last January the Dodge Center Ambulance and West Concord had an agreement where either entity could essentially cover the other ambulances for periods of time.
The time period in question was Monday through Friday 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. which was when Dodge Center was covering for West Concord.
At first the agreement was for the covering ambulance to receive any revenue from the calls, however, beginning in December, amidst talks of going to a Dodge Center Ambulance Taxing District, West Concord and Hayfield were being charged $34 an hour
anytime Dodge Center Ambulance was acting as the primary ambulance for the departments. The agreement wouldn’t impact any mutual aid calls.
From December to March West Concord paid Dodge Center Ambulance $35,363.
While it was noted by Dodge Center Ambulance Director John Fox that the agreement is reciprocal meaning Dodge Center, should the need arise, could rely on West Concord or even Hayfield, it isn’t expected West Concord will need as much help anymore.
“We were able to accomplish this due to the hiring of a Full-Time Ambulance Director and the outstanding commitment of our members,” La Plount said. “We want to thank Dodge Center Ambulance for their help during this staffing challenge. We look forward to continued partnership in providing the best care for our communities.”