VIENNA — The Maries-Osage Ambulance District (MOAD) Board welcomed a new member when it held its first post-election meeting on April 14.

Greg Stratman took over the Sub-District #4 seat previously held by his wife Laura Stratman. He was the only candidate to run for the three-year term. Incumbent Laura Miller was the only candidate to run for her seat representing Sub-District #1, so she also took the oath during the meeting.

The board continued to develop a policy to address the proper conditions for service animals to ride in an ambulance with patients.

Board Vice President Steve Maxwell asked which party would be responsible for supplying safe transport devices required by the policy draft, such as crates, cages or specialty carriers.

MOAD Administrator Carla Butler said she would add to the policy that it is the patient’s responsibility to provide the transport device for their animal.

Miller asked how often patients want service animals to ride on ambulances.

Butler said she only knew of one time a patient had made the request. The ambulance crew’s uncertainty about whether the animal could ride prompted the board to pursue the new policy.

The board planned to review the revised policy at the May meeting.

Later, the board discussed restarting its Facebook page after going about a year without one. Butler said the previous page was taken down after a few false reports that it violated the website’s terms of service.

Board members agreed that restarting the Facebook page would be a good way to share information with the public and possibly find new employees.

Annual maintenance on 41 automated external defibrillators (AED) in the area occurred at the end of February.

Butler and another employee will receive American Heart Association CPR instructor training in May to teach that method instead of the previous American Red Cross standards.

The board accepted lawn care bids from last year’s providers. Jason Reeves will handle the Vienna base for $30 per cut and Brandon Ivan will care for the Freeburg base at $50 per cut.

The new phone lines were working at the Vienna base after switching to internet-based service when AT&T ended copper wire service in the area. The Freeburg base had trouble getting the number connected to the new line, but a solution was in progress.

Butler said the conditions of the men’s restroom ceiling and the driveway at the Vienna base had worsened.

The ambulances got oil changes earlier this month.

The board reviewed monthly statistics and financial statements for both February and March because the March meeting was canceled.

Income in February outpaced expenses with $69,051.43 in and $47,937.49 out for a net income of $21,113.94. The surplus did not continue in March as the $37,793.55 total income was $46,259.08 less than the month’s $84,052.63 in expenses.

The district’s annual bill for worker’s compensation was an unexpected increase from the $30,000 in the budget. The bill totaled $38,851 for a nearly $9,000 deficit. Another $4,427.93 went to medical supplies in March.

The board reviewed the annual budget after the year’s first quarter concluded. Actual revenue totaled $356,016, which exceeded the budgeted revenue of $174,500 by $181,516. Actual expenses at $178,876 were $4,376 more than the $174,500 in budgeted expenses.

Revenue over expenses totaled $177,140 to conclude the first quarter.

MOAD responded to 39 calls in February. Of those, 37 occurred in the Vienna zone, and were in the Freeburg zone. The calls in Vienna included 21 urgent emergencies, 15 dry-run emergencies and one transfer. The Freeburg calls included one urgent emergency and one dry-run emergency.

Another 56 calls came in March. Forty-three calls were in the Vienna zone, and 13 calls were in the Freeburg zone. The Vienna calls included one life-threatening emergency, 27 urgent emergencies and 15 dry-run emergencies. The Freeburg calls included six urgent emergencies and seven dry-run emergencies.

Recent public events included blood pressure checks at Vienna Senior Center, a demolition derby in Vienna, a 5K run in Argyle and staff participation in the Maries R-1 Students Against Destructive Decisions video. Upcoming events include a car show in Freeburg in May, two tractor pulls in June and CPR training in Meta.