New ambulance truck designed to protect medics against COVID-19
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A one of a kind ambulance truck in the nation is here in the Valley.
Valley first responders designed the ambulance to protect medics against COVID-19.
The concept started on a napkin and was brought to life by Weslaco fire Chief Antonio Lopez and Lieutenant Greg Flores.
"During a pandemic, we didn't know what was out there with this COVID, and we started thinking of the future of protecting our crews," Flores said.
The ambulance has a negative pressure room, and it is meant to cater towards infectious diseases.
"We knew that we wanted some type of negative pressure in this ambulance, to be able to limit the contact that the paramedic would have with a patient and also with anything in the air," Lopez said.
The room is sectioned off from where the patient is, and air that enters the room passes through a UV light that kills bacteria.
Weslaco EMS has been operating the ambulance since January 2021. The price tag was $400,000.00. It was purchased with the Cares Act Funding.
Watch the video above for the full story.
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