A local ambulance company has made a big donation to the Ukraine War effort with ambulances they have donated.
Over the last few weeks, Ringdahl Ambulance has been working on the donation of three of their ambulances to be sent to Ukraine.
Tollef Ringdahl said a colleague of his was on the phone with an organization that, just in passing, asked if they wanted to donate an ambulance to Ukraine. The colleague then talked to Ringdahl — he said yes. Rindahl got in contact with Chris Manson with OSF Healthcare in Illinois, who had already been bringing ambulances overseas. So far, five total ambulances have been shipped to aid in Ukraine — three of which came from Ringdahl Ambulance.
The three ambulances Ringdahl donated were shipped from Chicago to a staging point in Rzeszow, Poland, on a 747-8 freighter plane.
In Poland, the contingent delivering the ambulances were met by the Ukrainian Ministry of Infrastructure personnel and armed forces. The ambulances were separated from the rest of the convoy and taken right into Ukraine for immediate deployment.
Ringdahl shared that, from what he understands, Russian forces are purposely targeting ambulances and that the number of available ambulances are decreasing because they are being destroyed. So, there is a real need for life saving equipment for Ukrainians to protect their country and defend themselves in their fight for freedom.
The ultimate destination for the ambulances is Izium, a city on the Donets River in the Kharkiv Oblast of eastern Ukraine.
It doesn’t stop there either — Ringdahl stated that two additional ambulances and large amounts of hospital equipment have been pledged for future aid flights.
According to Ringdahl, it has been a group effort with Lake Region Healthcare (LRH) in Fergus Falls, Prairie Ridge Hospital And Health Services in Elbow Lake and Paracorp to provide supplies to Ukraine from this region. LRH has also pledged more supplies and equipment for future shipment.
The local effort has generated interest from other ambulance services around the country, inquiring about how they can get involved and get more ambulances and supplies on the next shipment out.
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