A new ambulance base opened this week in Columbia, expanding MU Health Care’s capacity to respond to medical emergencies.
The base is located at 101 S. Fairview Road in west Columbia. That’s about a mile away from the Columbia Mall.
For now, the base will serve the community from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Troy McAdams, MU Health Care’s ground ambulance service coordinator, said the Fairview Road base should have continuous coverage by the end of October.
“We’re just working through some logistics to be able to establish the coverage there 24/7,” McAdams said.
When a resident calls emergency services, dispatchers use GPS to find and send the closest available ambulance.
“All ambulances are dispatched using (Automatic Vehicle Location) GPS dispatching,” McAdams said.
“This is an opportunity for us to spread our coverage out and get resources closer to 911 callers,” he added.
The base joins five others operated by MU Health Care. They are located at Keene Street, Business Loop 70 West, University Hospital and 1000 W. Nifong Blvd. An additional location operates in Ashland.
