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Jan. 4--ALTON -- A brand-new ambulance is on the road, made possible through the Duck Pluckers, Deer Skinners and Fish Hookers Ball.

The 2010 Ford E350 Super Duty truck with an extended cab rides comfortably and smoothly for emergency medical workers and gives them more space to work with patients than other ambulances in Alton Memorial Hospital's fleet, comprised of three van and now seven truck models.

Hunters and fishermen in the "Duck Pluckers" group raised nearly $60,000 for the ambulance, which covered half of its $120,000 cost. A Duck Pluckers sponsorship logo emblazons the exterior backdoor of the ambulance since the group met the challenge by Alton Memorial President David Braasch to raise half the funds in exchange for the logo. Alton Memorial's capital budget covered the other half of the cost.

"Seeing the 'Duck Pluckers' ambulance will be a constant reminder of the fun we had contributing toward technology that will save lives," said the ball's co-chair, Mary Lou Cousley.

The emergency vehicle's advanced technology allows for 12 lead EKG results to be transmitted to a physician while the ambulance is en route to the hospital. Other features include a hydraulic stretcher for accommodating patients in excess of 600 pounds and a hand held scanner, which scans a patient's driver's license and transmits information to a hospital computer, so pertinent medical information reaches the hospital before the patient.

Also, a different stretcher arrangement helps inside the ambulance.

"There's a lot of room with a center-mounted stretcher," said Denny Stanford, manager of the Alton Memorial Hospital EMS Department and the area's only hospital ambulance service covering 350 square miles.

The center-mount stretcher allows 4-square-feet more room as opposed to Alton Memorial's nine other ambulances that have side-mounted stretchers. Typical box-unit model ambulances are bigger than a van unit, but Alton Memorial's box units still are 1-square-foot smaller than the new box-unit vehicle.

Stanford, also an emergency medical services crewmember, oversees and schedules the department's 53 employees. He has been with Alton Memorial's ambulance service for 22 of its 23 years. Stanford, who has been in EMS for 33 years, was first to drive the ambulance that went into service Tuesday afternoon.

"Ambulance drivers are not supposed to go beyond the posted speed limit but this ambulance is still good at 70 miles per hour," said Stanford who drove the vehicle to and from Springfield Monday where it underwent state inspection by the Department of Public Health.

"It went through with flying colors," he said. "They even commented that the 'fasten seat belt' and 'no smoking' signs were where they were supposed to be."

The new-car-smelling cab features Bluetooth technology, which enables EMS workers to send crucial medical information to the hospital from the ambulance.

"Every second counts when you have a heart attack," Stanford said. "We've already saved two people by using this technology."

Also, Stanford and the selection committee asked specifically for a sliding door instead of a window to separate the front of the ambulance from the back of it. When the committee first looked at the new ambulance model, it had only a small window. In light of a recent Lifestar Ambulance Inc. incident near Granite City, where an ambulance driver suffered a cardiac problem and passed out behind the wheel, the Alton Memorial committee insisted on a larger space through which an EMS crewmember could easily crawl if needed to take over driving or for any other reason.

The committee informed the world's largest ambulance manufactures, Wheeled Coach, as to specifications the committee members wanted from the chassis up for the new ambulance.

The ambulance features four siren sounds, which are a high/low, wail, yelp and rumbler.

"This one drowns out other sirens," Stanford said.

Before the ambulance became active on the road, emergency medical services coordinator Debbie Woelful, who is an EMS educator and trainer, inspected and made sure the ambulance was stocked with supplies and medication.

Alton Memorial's EMS Department consists of four squads. It runs six ambulances during the day and four at night to cover the district. Two units are staffed at Alton Memorial during the day; three are staffed at Illinois Route 111 near the St. Louis Regional Airport in Bethalto to cover all of the district's east end; and, one unit is staffed in Godfrey across from Lewis and Clark Community College and covers half of Godfrey, all of Brighton to Prairie Town, Holiday Shores and to the north to Bunker Hill. Lifestar covers the other half of Godfrey while the Edwardsville Fire Department covers its town.

Alton Memorial EMS is trying to replace its fleet a little bit each year, Stanford said. The new ambulance replaced a vehicle with 330,000 miles on it. The average Alton Memorial ambulance accumulates up to 70,000 miles a year. The new vehicle went 170 miles on a half tank of gas from a 35 gallon tank. In 2008, the department received nearly 13,000 calls from its coverage area.

As far as energy saving features, Stanford said the diesel-fuel engine is more streamlined than in others in the fleet. If a crew leaves the lights on, the lights will turn off automatically after a short amount of time.

jill_moon@thetelegraph.com