LINCOLN, RI – Lt. Governor Dan McKee joined with Lincoln Town Administrator Joseph Almond and Bernard Georges, Founder and CEO of New Bridges for Haitian Success, to announce the donation of an ambulance and 10 sets of rescue gear to Belle-Anse, a Haitian community without a hospital or emergency transportation.
The Town of Lincoln worked with the Lt. Governor's Office to facilitate the donation in partnership with Greenwood Emergency Vehicles, a company that supplies ambulances, firetrucks and other vehicles to many Rhode Island municipalities. The donated ambulance is fully operational but is being phased and replaced by vehicles with updated technology in local communities. The Town of Lincoln also donated 10 sets of rescue gear that are no longer used by the town.
The donations will be transported by New Bridges for Haitian Success, a local non-profit dedicated to supporting Rhode Island's Haitian population and providing a wide array of relief to communities in Haiti.
"Bringing just one ambulance to Belle-Anse will significantly increase access to medical care and improve the quality of life for so many families in a community that is still recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Matthew," said Lt. Governor McKee. "I am glad my office could play a role in bringing local organizations together to find a new purpose for unused emergency equipment to help those in need."
"Many lives in Belle-Anse will be saved and forever changed thanks to the leadership of Lt. Governor McKee and the generosity of the Town of Lincoln and Greenwood Emergency Vehicles," said Bernard Georges, Founder and CEO of New Bridges for Haitian Success. "This donation will allow our organization to facilitate health services in a town of 158,000 people whose medical needs are tremendously underserved."
Last June, Lt. Governor McKee partnered with the Town of Johnston to facilitate the donation of two decommissioned fire trucks to communities in need in the Dominican Republic.