By Sarah Roebuck
EMS1
ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. — An EMS agency in Missouri found a way to save millions of dollars by recycling ambulances.
The St. Charles County Ambulance District is sending old ambulances about two hours away to Osage Ambulances to be remounted, according to KTVI.
St. Charles County Ambulance District Deputy Chief Jeremey Hollrah told KTVI the remounts have saved taxpayers about $2 million since 2018.
“About every seven years, based off mileage and wear and, tear, we take the ambulance and actually do what’s called a remount process,” Hollrah said an interview with KTVI. “We’ll send it off to the manufacturer, where they actually take the box part of the ambulance off and put a new chassis underneath it. You get multiple uses out of the box, and you get a brand-new chassis underneath it, which actually gives you 25 years out of the box and seven years out of the chassis.”
According to St. Charles County officials, remounted ambulances can cost $150,000 to $175,000, whereas a new ambulance would cost $270,000.
The district planned 15 remounts that began in 2018 through the end of 2023, and another five will be done from 2024 through 2025, KTVI reports. That will save taxpayers $2,019,480.
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