Grant Town EMS asks Marion County to help replace unsafe gurney

Yahoo

15-05-2025

FAIRMONT — Grant Town Emergency Medical Services needs to replace one of its stretchers that's become too dangerous to keep over concerns it could injure a patient.
'It could lead to a potential injury for them or even death,' Austin Boylen, chief financial officer of Grant Town EMS, said. 'When you're four foot in the air and fall over sideways, you can get a really bad head injury.'
Grant Town EMS requested funds Wednesday from the Marion County Commission to replace the stretcher.
The stretcher in question is currently out of service, being stored in one of the trucks the agency uses. Boylen said the Rescue Squad won't run that truck until they have a replacement.
The problem is a bad wheel on the stretcher that's about to fall off. Normally, such a piece would be replaced, but the current model the Rescue Squad has, a Ferno, doesn't have the ability to replace the wheel. The squad wants to move to a Stryker, which does have replaceable parts. Boylen said they looked everywhere to see if they could replace the wheel, but came up short. The current stretcher is eight years old.
Boylen said a brand new one was $100,000 but a refurbished one is available for $22,900. There is also a $500 shipping charge and $2,500 for installation. Boylen asked if commissioners could help cover the cost of the stretcher. The Rescue Squad doesn't have any donations or grants they use to fund the purchase. Boylen added he is also approaching state and federal legislators for help.
Marion County Rescue Squad was sued in 2020 after they dropped a woman's husband while transporting him into Fairmont Regional Medical Center in 2019. The lawsuit alleged the patient had not been properly secured to the gurney. The patient died due to severe brain trauma. The case settled in February.
County Commissioners also issued a proclamation honoring National Older Americans Month. Leisha Elliott, executive director of Marion County Senior Citizens Inc., was on hand to accept the proclamation.
'The theme this year is called 'Flip the Script,' and it's just an effort to demonstrate that the senior population still has a lot to offer to the communities that may be of retirement age, but they're in no way retiring from their community,' Elliott said.
Elliott said sometimes seniors get pushed aside, treated as if their opinions don't matter because their ideas are outdated. That's the furthest thing from the truth, she said. For many years Marion County Senior Citizens has worked to make sure senior residents can continue living inside their homes by providing services that allow them to maintain independent lives.
Elliott is also coming up on one year of leading Marion County Senior Citizens.
'It's been great,' she said. 'There's a lot to learn, the programs can get a little complicated sometimes, but we have a great staff that knows the programs in and out, and we have great support from the West Virginia Bureau of Senior Services. They work very hard every day to make sure seniors get the best care possible.'