When you need medical help in an emergency, you want the people responding to have the very best training possible. Thanks to a grant from PPL Montana, the 13 emergency medical technicians who staff the Colstrip Ambulance Service will have that training.
PPL Montana, which operates the Colstrip power plant, presented the $6,000 grant to the SouthEastern Montana Development Corp. to provide the ongoing training the EMTs need to remain qualified in advanced life support.
“Through our Community Fund grants, we’re pleased to work with Montana communities to improve the quality of life for today and tomorrow,” said Lisa Perry, PPL Montana’s Community Affairs manager. “This grant will help to ensure Colstrip area residents can continue to get skilled medical assistance rapidly when there’s an emergency.”
Each EMT is required to complete 48 hours of continuing education to maintain advanced life support certification, said Shawn Hage, director of Colstrip Ambulance Service.
“With this grant, we can make sure we are all trained at the same time with the same information. That will enable us to provide a standardized higher level of care to our area, shortening the time from a patient’s initial call to medical treatment,” he said.
The Colstrip Ambulance Service covers a population of 5,000 in a 3,021-square-mile area. The group responds to about 200 calls each year, Hage said.
PPL Montana created its Community Fund to further strengthen the partnership between the company and its communities, Perry said. Since its creation in 2005, the Community Fund has awarded $400,000 to organizations that are addressing issues related to education, the environment and economic development. Another $100,000 will be awarded this spring. Applications for the spring grants will be accepted online by clicking here until Jan. 31.
PPL has 500 employees in Montana who generate and sell electricity. PPL Montana operates coal-fired power plants at Colstrip and Billings, as well as 11 hydroelectric plants along West Rosebud Creek and the Missouri, Madison, Clark Fork and Flathead rivers. It has a combined generating capacity of more than 1,200 megawatts and has offices in Billings, Butte and Helena. PPL EnergyPlus operates a trading floor in Butte that markets and sells power in the wholesale and retail energy market. PPL Montana and PPL EnergyPlus are subsidiaries of PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL).
Note to editors: A photograph for use in your publication is available by clicking here.
Caption: PPL Montana, which operates the Colstrip power plant, presents a $6,000 grant to provide ongoing training for emergency medical technicians to remain qualified in advanced life support. Participating in the check presentation are (from left) Jim Atchison, executive director of SouthEastern Montana Development Corp.; Dr. Jose Ortiz, Colstrip Medical Center; Ron Roberts, manager-power cycle, Colstrip plant; Frankie Kapptie, Colstrip plant warehouse worker and co-director of Colstrip Ambulance Service; Shawn Hage, Colstrip plant mechanical welder and director of Colstrip Ambulance Service; Larry Miller, Colstrip plant manager-projects and an EMT with the ambulance service; and David Hoffman, PPL Montana manager of External Affairs.