KINGWOOD — The Preston County Commission is considering using some of the governor’s “hero pay” grant to buy ventilators for ambulances and PPE for first responders.
On Friday, counties received checks for $100,000. Gov. Jim Justice said the funds are to be used to offset the “extraordinary costs that your county and the municipalities within your county are incurring for the first responders and true soldiers right on the front lines of this pandemic.”
County Administrator Kathy Mace said she, Preston County Health Director V.J. Davis, County Health Officer Dr. Fred Conley and Emergency Management/911 Director Duane Hamilton are looking for ways “to get the most bang for our buck.”
Those could include buying personal protective equipment (PPE) for first responders and automatic ventilators that could be placed on ambulances. If four ventilators were bought, one would remain in the county stockpile and three put on ambulances.
Mace noted the money must cover March 1 to Dec. 31. “So we want to ensure that we’re not premature in everything we spend, because we’re uncertain of what future expenses could be.”
No one knows when the county starts reopening, or in the fall, if there could be a surge of cases, she said.
“This particular virus is all about exposure, and we’re trying to minimize the exposure of the first responders who must go out,” Mace said.
It would be difficult to use the money to pay people, she said, noting the grant is for cities as well, and Preston has 10 municipalities, 12 volunteer fire departments and seven ambulance services.
Commission President Samantha Stone said she has spoken with many fire departments and told them that Preston OEM/911 has PPE available currently.
“I believe we have been very fortunate in the county because of the guidelines we have followed and because we’re very rural,” Stone said.
But a surge of virus cases could still come, she said, so it’s important commissioners look closely at how the money is used.
As of Tuesday morning, Preston County had 12 confirmed positive for the coronavirus, Davis said. Of those, one was being treated in the hospital, seven were isolated/being treated at home, three have recovered and one person has died.
He also clarified that people are not required to wear masks in public. Commissioners said they have had several calls on that.
“There is no county regulation or statewide regulation that would require you to wear a mask,” Davis said.
There is such a regulation in adjacent Garrett County, Md., he said, which may be adding to the
confusion.
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Morgantown Area News
'Friday, May 17, 2024'
