Libby welcomes NY ambulance
Rich Retcho, assistant captain for Pine Bush Volunteer Ambulance in New York, second from left, hands Charles McFarland, president of Libby Volunteer Ambulance, far left, the keys to an emergency response vehilce. Tammy Lauer, vice-president of Libby Ambulance, and David Grass, a trustee and emergency medical technician with Pine Bush, look on. Pine Bush donated the ambulance to Libby.
By GWEN ALBERS Western News Reporter
Driving 2,691 miles over four days, David Grass and Rich Retcho arrived in Libby on April 12.
At the edge of town, Libby Volunteer Ambulance with lights and sirens greeted the duo from Pine Bush, N.Y.
The fanfare was Libby's "thank you."
That's because Grass, a trustee and emergency medical technician with Pine Bush Volunteer Ambulance, and Retcho, the assistant captain, had driven here in a fully-equipped ambulance to donate it to Libby. The seven-year-old ambulance valued at $50,000 gives Libby a seventh vehicle for serving 10,140 residents.
"I was amazed at how great it sounds," Charles McFarland, president of Libby Volunteer Ambulance, said about new rig. "It's a healthy ambulance."
Libby, in turn, will give one of its emergency response vehicles to Trout Creek, which doesn't have an ambulance. Trout Creek emergency medical technicians drive to Noxon to get an ambulance.
Located 60 miles north of New York City between Newburgh and Middletown, Pine Bush Volunteer Ambulance also covered its travel expenses.
To show their appreciation, Libby Ambulance volunteers took the pair to Libby Dam, Red Dog Saloon and MK Steakhouse. They also invited Grass and Retcho to their annual awards banquet at the Elks BPOE club on Saturday.
Traveling mainly across Interstate 90, the Pine Bush volunteers stopped every 90 minutes to stretch.
"An ambulance is not designed for normal size people," said Retcho, who stands over 6 feet tall.
Libby Volunteer Ambulance in 2002 purchased another ambulance from Pine Bush. Eighteen months ago, Pine Bush considered selling Libby a second one. Before the deal was put together, the ambulance was sold to another company.
Pine Bush then decided to donate an ambulance to Libby, which relies on billing insurance companies, Medicare and private pay patients for its $175,000 annual budget to serve a 1,430-square-mile area.
Pine Bush, which assisted after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York City, serves 20,000 people within 70-square-miles.
"That's insane," Retcho said about the vast area Libby Ambulance has. "Any call that we have takes two hours from the time you leave home and return."
Libby Ambulance responds to emergencies as far as 65 miles east to Happy's Inn on Route 2, to Kootenai Falls to the west and about 30 miles north to Wolf Creek. Sometimes a run can take eight to 10 hours.