A new home
New TVP garage to open in fall
By Katie Pizza
Argus Observer
Saturday, August 16, 2008 10:23 PM PDT
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| Treasure Valley Paramedics Supervisor Doug Williams surveys the progress being made at the new garage and living area under construction near the 1100 block of Southwest Fourth Street. The company plans to hold a grand opening in November. The garage will hold all four of the company’s ambulances, with a living area and four bedrooms. |
Ontario — Ontario-based Treasure Valley Paramedics is nearing completion of its $268,000 building slated to hold the company’s four-ambulance fleet, as well as give a rest area for the paramedics who operate them.
“We’ve been in the same building for about nine years, and we desperately needed a new one,” Treasure Valley Paramedics President and C.E.O. Steve Patterson said.
After the facility, situated near the 1100 block of Southwest Fourth Street, is completed in October or November, all of the company’s four ambulances will be inside, protected from the elements. Currently, the fleet sits outside the company’s present center of operations, situated at 398 S.W. 12th St. in Ontario.
“We intended for this building to be temporary,” Patterson said of the current facility. “It just took awhile to get a new building.”
The land for the new building was originally owned by Dr. Louis Barinaga, who sold the property to Treasure Valley Paramedics a year ago.
“He was very good to work with,” Patterson said.
Treasure Valley Paramedics Supervisor Doug Williams said he thought the sale was a good deal for TVP.
“We’ve been in business since 1999,” Williams said. “It’s been a goal to see all the equipment inside.”
Patterson said construction was delayed because of “red-tape” and difficulty finding a contractor who would fit within their budget. Currently, Washington-based Mountain States Construction is at work on building the facility.
“It’s centrally located, which is one of the goals here, and it’s close to the hospital,” Williams said.
He said Treasure Valley Paramedics responds to medical calls generated from Ontario dispatch, with services extending to Nyssa, Adrian and Vale. Williams said the calls are varied, from pediatrics to geriatrics. He said the volume of calls has increased yearly since the company’s inception in 1999, a fact he attributes to the city’s growth.
Once completed, the two-story building will contain a kitchen, two bathrooms, a billing office and areas to hold medical supplies. The second floor will be empty, but Williams said the company plans to utilize the area for training exercises once they have enough funding.
The company also plans to hold an open house and will invite city leaders to attend when the building is fully furnished in November.
“It’s their building,” Patterson said of Ontario city leaders. “We’re just the custodians of it.”
