The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-12-01
A NEW AMBULANCE ASKED ron.
An Appropriation VIII Probably BE
Made I'm the Police budget.


Made I'm the Police Budget.
One of the Improvements for which an
appropriation is asked by the police com
mission In its budget for next year is a
new police ambulance.
The need of such an addition to the
equipment of the police department is
very evident if the department is to con-
tinue TO perform the work which it has
been performing gratuitously for many
years. In other cities every hospital has
an ambulance which is dispatched to bring
sick and wounded people 10 the hospital.
In the whole city Of Savannah there is
only one ambulance, and that an old one
horse affair in possession Of the police de-
partment. This answers all emergency
calls, including those from the railroads.
and carries all the sick to all of the hos
pitfalls.
The number of calls which the ambu-
lance answers in a day will surprise MANY
people, who have an idea that the ambu-
lance is called into use two or three times
a month where somebody Is found half
dead on the street. There have been as
many as ten calls in day for the ambu-
lance, and the average is four or five. Four
calls were received yesterday I'D to 2
O'Clock Sunday there were two calls
Saturday there We're five, and Friday three
calls came in between the hours of 12IO
and 2:S0 p. m. The second call was for a
negro workman who had fallen off a build
ing on East Broad street, near Broughton.
andwas said to have broken his back. 1t
was necessary to take him to the Georgia
1nhrmary. Naturally the. ambulance
horse doesn't go in a trot with a man
with broken back and the trip required
about and hour and a quarter In the
meantime there were repeated calls from
the Savannah, Florida and Western
"a firrFa 4 - faF-a
had been badly injured in an accident. 10
his home. After waiting forty-fve min
utes for the ambulance the wounded en-
gineer was carried TO his home in a hack
The larger part OF the work Of the am
bulance Is in moving sick persons from
their homes to the hospitals There is
nothing in the ordinances to require the
police department to perform this service.
but II is one that has grown up from long
usage until many people regard the use
OF the ambulance as civic right to which
they are entitled by law. As matter of
fact, the service could be refused by the
department the ambulance being primari-
II intended for use in emergency cases
only. This would compel each hospital to
Keep an ambulance which wouldS be a
considerable item Of expense.
Another point worthy of consideration
is that the indiscriminate use Of the am
bulance is not sanitary. Patients suffer-
ing from all sorts of diseases are taken
10 the hospitals daily. While a
small pox patient would hardly be taken
IN the ambulance II the fact were known.
still there must be large number Of per-
sons suffering from infectious or loath-
some diseases who are carried by 1t an
nually.
The police commission has included an
estimate in It's budget for a new two
horse ambulance to take the place Of the
old ambulance, which is a one-horse vehl-
Gle. The item viii doubtless be allowed.
In this case the old ambulance will prob
ably be kept in reserve for use when
there is an extra demand for such SER
vice