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ST. GEORGE — Gold Cross Ambulance has submitted a license application to the Utah Bureau of Emergency Medical Services to provide ambulance services to St. George and surrounding areas, which would leave the future of Dixie Ambulance, the area’s current provider, unknown.
Gold Cross has been providing ambulances services to Utah, mainly in the Salt Lake area, for over 40 years. Since 2009 the company has been providing nonemergency transportation services in St. George.
Although some may see this application as competition, two companies cannot provide emergency services in a single area. Also, the Utah Administrative Code mandates the amount independent ambulance services can charge customers and prohibits subcontract work.
St. George is not the only area that would be affected if the application is approved. Many of the outlying communities rely on Dixie Ambulance to provide emergency services when volunteer crews are not adequate. According to state regulations, companies are assigned specific regions or geographical areas for a certain time. Currently St. George is broken into one large section with smaller volunteer services filling in the gaps.
Dixie Ambulance currently serves a large area, including Leeds, Washington, Bloomington, Santa Clara, Ivins, I-15 corridor from Arizona mile marker 18 to Utah mile marker 27, Utah Highway 91, Winchester, Enterprise, Central, Pinevalley, Brookside, Veyo, Dammeron Valley, Diamond Valley and St. George. The roughly quarter of a million residents in this area rely on Dixie Ambulance's eight vehicles, five of which are listed as "back-up," according to the company's website.
If the Gold Cross contract is approved, services would be turned over and the company would move additional vehicles to the area. The state's Board of Emergency Services declined comment on the situation as did representatives from both ambulance services.
Community members in the St. George area will continue to receive services from Dixie Ambulance until action is taken on the Gold Cross application.
Gold Cross is known for its community involvement locally and worldwide. It has donated used equipment to Guatemala, Mexico, and to the Dixie State College EMT program.
