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JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM
EMS Assistant Chief Wayne Kruse, right, took part Monday in a dedication ceremony in Ewa Villages for the Honolulu Emergency Services Department’s six new ambulances which included a blessing of the vehicles by Kahu Kordell Kekoa.
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The city Department of Emergency Services dedicated six new ambulances Monday.
The new rigs will replace ambulances in Ewa Beach, Waipahu, Aiea, Wailupe, Kailua and Liliha, Emergency Services spokeswoman Shayne Enright said.
Ewa-area ambulances have doubled their mileage since the closing of Hawaii Medical Center-West in late 2011, Enright said. Ambulances in the Liliha area also were saddled with a heavier workload after Hawaii Medical Center-East closed in January 2012, she said.
The ambulances being replaced all have at least 100,000 miles on them, Enright said. A typical ambulance lasts about three years, but the ones being replaced have reached the end of their life spans in half that time, she said.
The state, which contracts with the counties for emergency medical services through the Department of Health, paid the estimated $190,000 tab for each of the six new rigs, she said. Each will include about $85,000 in electrocardiogram machines, ventilators, pumps, computers and other equipment.
City Emergency Services Director Mark Rigg said in a statement, "The Emergency Medical Services Division is committed to caring for those who are sick and injured in our community and these six new ambulances will help us continue to provide lifesaving services."
The old ambulances will be kept as relievers or spares.