MADISON, W.Va. — The Boone County Ambulance Authority will be the beneficiary of a federal loan.
Agriculture Under Secretary Lisa Mensah visited Boone Memorial Hospital Thursday to announce a $1.86-million loan to the ambulance authority through the Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development Program.
The loan covers construction of two new ambulance stations, renovations on a third station and the purchase additional public safety equipment.
Mensah visited to view the $31.8-million construction of a new hospital, a 50,000-square-foot facility expected to open in the summer of 2016.
Mensah said the loan would serve to help the ambulance authority with some needed upgrades.
She said that the Rural Development Program is lucky enough to have people in the medical field and a West Virginia office. Ambulance authority executive director Randall Lengyel said the loan will help first responders provide better care.
“It’s really going to help us and the county. We’re going to expand our service, have new equipment and more modern ambulances,” Lengyel said.
The USDA Rural Development program invested $330 million in the state of West Virginia last year.
U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito released the following statement on the loan:
“It is extremely important that our local first responders have the tools and training needed to respond quickly and effectively to emergency situations. These brave men and women save lives, keep our communities safe and put their own health and safety on the line. This grant will enable the Boone County Ambulance Authority to upgrade its resources and continue to keep the community safe.”