Grays Harbor Fire District 5 commissioners voted to approve purchasing four Stryker Power Gurneys at their monthly meeting in February.

The power gurneys were the list of things to be funded by the EMS levy, which was approved by voters in November 2016.

“When I took over as the district’s fire chief 6 years ago, District 5 was one of the few departments in respect to Grays Harbor County to still be using manual gurneys. It was a goal of mine from day one to replace them with power lift gurneys,” District 5 Chief Dan Prater said in a press release.

Power lift Gurneys help with the safety of medical responders and patients. The use of power lift gurneys are a major factor in decreasing on-the-job injuries caused by lifting and loading patients to and from ambulances.

A committee of staff and volunteers from the district evaluated options from different vendors. The evaluations looked at cost, build of the gurneys and feasibility to the district’s needs when working with patients and considering medical responders. The district opted to purchase four Stryker Power – Proxt Gurneys with performance load systems for ambulances.

The Stryker Gurneys also are compatible with the loading systems of other agencies the district works with for mutual aid agreements.

The four Gurneys cost $106,660 and were financed for five years with no interest. The district will make annual payments of $21,332.