Ambulance service needs new volunteers
By Alyssa Schafer
The Washburn Volunteer Ambulance Service needs more volunteers to ensure there will be enough emergency responders to dispatch to area calls. Being a member of the ambulance service is a demanding type of volunteer work, which is the main reason it’s so hard to find people, Ambulance Service EMT Mary Devlin said. "When you’re on the ambulance, it makes a huge difference if you don’t show up," Devlin said. Ambulance volunteers are asked to be available for one 12-hour shift a week and two weekend shifts a month. "Some people take two Sunday mornings," Devlin said. "The shifts don’t have to be the same weekend. We’re really very flexible when trying to work with people." Right now the ambulance service has about 25 volunteers, but would operate better with 30 volunteers or more, long-time ambulance service volunteer Mark Lelm said.
