Helping And Responding

Cottonwood Ambulance and Rescue closed in October of 2017, but by the start of 2018, the efforts of volunteers had restored the much-needed service.

Ambulance services are crucial to rural areas, and Cottonwood, just outside of Dothan, needed its own. The time it would take for an ambulance to arrive from Dothan could be too long for some Cottonwood patients in life-threatening situations.

That’s why people like EMTs Nick Alford and Trey Hillis decided to step up and help get Cottonwood Rescue back up and running.

“There are 100 square miles in Cottonwood, and those people need an ambulance service,” Hillis says.

Hillis, Alford and other volunteers did a deep cleaning and restocking of the ambulances. They took their time before reopening to make sure everything was in working order.

“Cottonwood Rescue is back up and running because they rolled up their sleeves and made it happen,” Cottonwood Rescue captain Rickey Stokes says. “Their work and dedication is why they have been able to make more than 350 calls since January.”

While Cottonwood Rescue is back in service, the operation is still short on volunteers and supplies. To help meet supply needs, Wiregrass Electric’s Operation Round Up Charitable Foundation donated $9,000 to Cottonwood Ambulance and Rescue.

The funds went toward the purchase of a stair chair, two cardiac monitors and two stretchers. While the previous stretchers would only hold 250 pounds, the new ones have an 800-pound capacity. Each also has an electric-powered assist, which means the EMTs do not have to physically lift the stretcher into the ambulance.

“They are doing so much to help people and help the community,” says Operation Round Up board president David Hall. “When we get to make donations like this it just makes our Operation Round Up board feel so good about what we are doing. We feel like we are really making a difference.”

The donation is funded by WEC members who have agreed to have their monthly energy bills rounded up to the nearest whole dollar. That amount is then put back into the community through grants.

“This is just such a great program, and the most it can cost a member is about a dollar a month. They get so much out of this program because all the money goes back into the community,” says WEC District 4 board of trustee representative Danny McNeil. “This donation to Cottonwood Rescue is a perfect example of that.”

Since Cottonwood Ambulance and Rescue has been back in service, response times have been exceptional, Stokes says. The new equipment paid for by WEC members will improve their service even more.

“We had a call where Trey and Nick went from being asleep to on the scene in eight minutes,” he says. “That is fantastic.”

Alford and Hillis both had family members who were first responders, a legacy that inspired them. And the desire to help people keeps them going, even when the job is difficult.

“Every now and then, you really make a difference,” Alford says. “There’s no amount of money in the world that will give you a feeling like you get when you actually see somebody appreciate what you do. It’s more of a payment than any paycheck.”