BOUNDRIES • Tina Allred, representing East Juab Ambulance Association, left, showed Juab County Commissioners a copy of the boundary map at meeting on Tuesday..

By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent

Rather than fighting it out, the East Juab Ambulance Association reached a boundary agreement with Santaquin Ambulance Association.
Tina Allred, representing East Juab Ambulance Association, showed Juab County Commissioners a copy of the boundary map at meeting on Tuesday.
Kyle Bigler, president of the association, said Allred, had met with the ambulance association officers and had reached an agreement that both organizations were happy with.
Paul Terry, Director of Santaquin EMS, Lee Savage, Assistant Director of Santaquin EMS, and Annalee Gause, Training Officer, are the officers of the Santaquin Ambulance Association.
Santaquin has been seeking to move into territory inside the boundaries of Juab County that had been serviced by East Juab Ambulance from Eureka.
“Kyle (Bigler) has agreed to make the boundary SR 68 and SR 6 on the west side of Utah Lake,” said Allred. “That allows for a boundary extension into Juab County.”
The agreement will allow quick service for any victim located in the remote area of Utah and Juab Counties west of Utah Lake.
“Our concern has always been the safety of the people,” said LuWayne Walker, commissioner.
Bigler held on to part of the territory that Santaquin Ambulance Association would have liked to have added but agreed to relinquish some of the area.
Walker said Bigler’s division of the territory indicated wisdom in settling an on-going dispute between the two organizations. Eureka can get to some of the territory quicker than Santaquin can and, therefore, the boundary agreement was in the best interest of anyone needing EMT service within the area where the borders of Utah County and Juab County bump.
“Kyle (Bigler) thought it was better to come to a compromise rather than trying to fight it out,” said Allred.
She said introducing the map and agreement to Juab County Commissioners was a formality.
The Utah Department of Health, Bureau of Emergency Medical Services, will now review the agreement and will send to the two involved EMT associations their licenses showing the new boundaries.
Utah Code states that each ground ambulance provider license issued will be for an exclusive geographic service area as described in the license. Only the licensed ground ambulance provider may respond to an ambulance request that originates within the provider’s exclusive geographic service area, except under special circumstances.
A licensed ground ambulance provider may respond to an ambulance request that originates from the exclusive geographic area of another provider under a mutual aid agreement; to render assistance on a case-by-case basis to that provider; and as necessary to meet needs in time of disaster or other major emergency.