Oologah-Talala EMS Has 4 New Ambulances On The Road

Oologah-Talala EMS now has four new state-of-the-art ambulances available to help people. The ambulances feature new equipment and safety upgrades, to keep both the medical crew and the patient safe.

Thursday, April 11th 2019, 10:41 pm

By: Justin Shrair

Oologah-Talala EMS Has 4 New Ambulances On The Road

Oologah-Talala EMS now has four new state-of-the-art ambulances available to help people. The ambulances feature new equipment and safety upgrades, to keep both the medical crew and the patient safe.

This comes more than seven years after an OTEMS ambulance rolled over ending two medics' careers.

On the on the outside of the ambulances, the graphics and the placement of the lights are completely redone making it more visible. Step inside, and it's a whole redesign from the bottom up.

In 2012, an Oologah-Talala ambulance, was involved in a rollover off of Highway 169 at 46th Street North. Police say the driver swerved to avoid hitting a hay bale. The patient later died.

"It ended the EMS career of two people" said Paramedic Ryan Setzkorn who works for Oologah-Talala EMS.

The driver and the patient were secured, but the paramedic in the back was not while he treated the patient. Now - more than seven years and $800,000 later - OTEMS has four brand new state-of-the-art ambulances with safety enhancements and equipment.

"We have that in our minds as we were going to this design - we want to be able to put our people, our employees in a spot where they are going to be safe," said Setzkorn.

One of the biggest improvements is inside the ambulance - the paramedic in the back will now always be belted in.

"We completely redesigned the cockpit of the back of this ambulance to make it so that you can completely do your job and be safely seat belted at the same time" said Setzkorn.

And nearly everything a medic needs is now secured and within arm's reach.

"Mounted and crash tested specific hardware so that if we are in a crash all the equipment stays put," said Setzkorn.

And along with new stretchers, the entire ambulance is a one-piece design.

"There's nothing to come off of here and eject anybody that's in the back" said Ryan Setzkorn, paramedic.

To make sure that if a crash happens, medics and patients will be much safer. Bond money approved just last year is paying for the ambulances.

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