Trigg County Hospital has received a long-awaited $3 million grant to construct a new EMS and ambulance building, with work hoped to begin next year.
US Congressman James Comer announced on Thursday that the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, recently passed by Congress, includes federal funding for the construction of a new emergency medical services and ambulance facility.
Comer called the funding “a major step forward for our local medical services and will provide the modern space and tools they need to respond quickly and effectively when lives are on the line.”
Trigg County Hospital CEO John Sumner called the grant a long-time coming and a blessing for the community.
click to download audioSumner says the new building will provide for improved round-the-clock housing for its ambulance drivers, EMTs, and emergency employees.
click to download audioHe says the new building will be located on the southern edge of the hospital, adjacent to the medical arts building and near where the former primary care trailer was located.
It will replace the current 800-square-foot building, known for years as the ‘ambulance shack.’ Sumner says that building has been remodeled for the EMS workers while they awaited word on the federal funds and will be repurposed for hospital use.
click to download audioSumner also says the new facility will allow the hospital to plan for the future as the coverage area and call volume increase.
click to download audioSumner is hopeful that ground will be broken on the project next spring.
While the $3 million federal grant is rare for the hospital, it’s not the first.
The hospital received a $700,000 grant in 1968 to build an addition to the facility that doubled its capacity. That would be worth $6.5 million in today’s money.
