     
     |
Lifeline Donates Ambulance to Honduran Children's Agency
| (Christiansburg,
VA; June, 1999) - Lifeline Ambulance Service, Inc, with headquarters
in Christiansburg, has donated a 1990 Chevrolet ambulance and emergency
medical training to an Honduran children's organization.
. According to Lifeline founder and president Jim Jones, the company has entered into a partnership with Bless the Children, Inc., to provide the ambulance, training in pre-hospital emergency medical services, and instruction in organizing and operating a volunteer rescue squad. Lifeline Ambulance will also provide mechanical training for the upkeep of the ambulance. . "When I heard of Bless the Children's need for an ambulance and the lack of emergency medical transportation in El Progresso, I was pleased that we could help them provide local emergency ambulance service and pre-hospital emergency medical services. With an ambulance to bring the residents of El Progresso and the children from Bless the Children to the hospital, and with trained emergency service technicians to provide medical care, the community will be greatly served," Jones said. . Bless the Children of Honduras is an international branch of Bless the Children, Inc., with headquarters in Richmond, VA. The organization was founded by former Roanoke resident Karen Settles Hubbard, who is also president of Bless the Children, Inc. George Mealer, formerly of Richmond, is president of Bless the Children of Honduras and will oversee the new rescue squad. . The Honduran Bless the Children branch is located in El Progresso, which is a hub city surrounded by four other towns. The 100-mile area, with a population of approximately 75,000 low-income residents, has no ambulance service, although, there is a hospital. Bless the Children will provide ambulance service free of charge to the surrounding population. . According to Jones, Lifeline Ambulance Operations Manager Dempsey Whitt will travel in August to Honduras to teach both the emergency medical training and ambulance mechanical service training to people chosen for the rescue squad. . Bless the Children, Inc. arranges medical supplies and doctor assistance for Honduran children. It is classified as a 501C(3) non-profit organization and is approved by the United States Agency for International Development. The organization is endorsed by the Virginia Society for Healthcare Purchasing and materials Management. |