POMEROY-The members of the Garfield County Ambulance Memorial Fund (GCAMF) advisory board met Monday, February 3, 2020, to discuss a proposal to move the fund management under the umbrella of the Garfield County Health Foundation (GCHF) Fund. The GCAMF would become a sub-fund under the GCHF. Donations could be made to either fund. Grant requests would still go to a committee for approval, and would be dispersed from the sub-fund.

Chris Muñoz expressed some concern that there didn't appear to be set guidelines for what sort of requests would be eligible for grants from the fund. Wynne McCabe responded to his concern with a description of how the fund began and how it has kept a focus on the original intent for the fund.

In the 1960s and before, there was no ambulance in Pomeroy, only a hearse which served double duty. The ambulance and rural fire department were operated by donations only, which was the GCAMF. With time and population growth, it became apparent that the donations would not be enough to run them well, and tax dollars were needed to continue. That is when the Garfield County Fire District came into existence. The GCAMF was still maintained so that citizens could continue making donations, which helped to buy special equipment, such as defibrillators. The fund would have dwindled away over the years if it had not been for some large contributions. Only a few donations each year are received now.

By making the GCAMF part of the GCHF fund, the money will be invested in long-term moderate sources, which is expected to give a much better rate of return than previously earned through a savings account. The GCHF fund is a charitable organization with the purpose of helping local people designate local money for use for the good of the community, according to Kari Isaacson. She added that it is a "socially responsible fund," and donors can earn a charitable tax deduction for donations made directly to the GCHF fund.

The advisory board agreed to give the balance in the GCAMF bank account of $38,557.70 to the GCHF fund, to establish a sub-fund under the name of the GCAMF, for the specific purpose of supporting expenditures for capital, medical and emergency equipment for health-related issues in Garfield County. The advisory board expressed the desire to encourage new donations to the memorial fund, because the need to help keep the ambulance service running efficiently is just as important as it ever was in the past.