Blue Mountain Hospital’s new ambulance arrived last week
By Logan Bagett on Thursday, November 20th, 2025 in Eastern/Southeast Oregon News More Top Stories
JOHN DAY – The Blue Mountain Hospital District is getting a new ambulance. EMS Director Rebekah Rand was on KJDY’s Coffee Time earlier this week, and said the new ambulance arrived on Wednesday, November 12th from the Boise area. This is the first new ambulance coming to the district in roughly 10 years, according to Rand.
She said the ambulance is the only one on the fleet that is red in color, and comes with a new auto-load capability:
“[In] our ambulances right now, you actually have to lift the back of the gurney—usually using one or two people—the gurney itself is probably around 500 or 600punds. The auto-load is [a feature where] you basically just hook it up to the back of the ambulance. It does all the work for you, and all you have to do is basically push it in. It retracts the legs and bears all the weight, so the lifting is very, very minimal.”
The new ambulance is supported by Air Link. Rand said the purchase was made possible thanks to a portion of Grant County Air Link members’ fees that are dedicated to the “Ambulance Replacement Fund.”
At the time of the visit, Director Rand said the ambulance still needed to be stocked, licensed, and registered before going into service.
Listen to the full podcast with BMHD EMS Director Rebecca Rand below:
