MILTON-FREEWATER, Ore. (AP) — Umatilla County Commissioners approved a five-month contract with a private company to keep the ambulance service for the Milton-Freewater area in Eastern Oregon operational.
The East Oregonian reports (http://bit.ly/onGqns ) Umatilla County agreed to pay Milton-Freewater Emergency Medical Service $5,000 per month through the end of June.
The service was set to end on Jan. 31.
The county will loan the money until the Milton-Freewater Ambulance Service District secures its own funding.
Unlike every other ambulance district in Umatilla County, the Milton-Freewater area has no tax to support ambulance service. The district board plans within five months to secure a larger loan, request proposals and hire an emergency medical service provider on a longer contract.
The company said last year it would need $98,000 a year to stay solvent.
