June 4, 2002 – Health and emergency service providers on St. John say they're prepared to transport ambulance patients to St. Thomas while the Star of Life IV is undergoing repairs. The ambulance boat has been out of service for about two weeks.
Health Department spokesman Lee Vanterpool said engine failure is to blame for the boat being down. "The contractor that was working on it said there was a part that had to be ordered from off island," he said.
Patients whose medical needs can't be met by the Myrah Keating Smith Community Health Center depend on the ambulance boat to get to Roy L. Schneider Hospital on St. Thomas. Erica McDonald, health center administrator, is responsible for every aspect of patient care except ambulance service, which is run as part of the Emergency Medical Service. If a patient needs transport, clinic staffers call McDonald and she makes sure a barge, ferry or other private carrier is available. So far, she said, there have been no cases requiring an off-island transfer since the Star of Life has been out of service.
While the vessel is out of commission, the Health Department has arranged for the Per Dohm Water Taxi service in Red Hook to transport any St. John patients needing to get to St. Thomas. It costs the V.I. government up to $300 a day to have a private vessel standing by.
The ambulance boat began its life as a seized drug vessel called the Dixie Diver. It was converted for medical use and donated to the territory by the federal government in the mid 1990s. It was taken out of service for about four months in late 2000 when problems developed in both engines. There's no word on when the current repairs are expected to be completed.
St. John Administrator Julien Harley said officials are concerned about the reliability of the Star of Life IV but don't know what to do about it. He said a new boat might be the best option, but there are questions about how such a vessel would be used.
"When I was young, it was called 'the government boat,' It used to do everything," he said of the vessel used back then to transport patients. "But if you go that route, then it would be doing rescues, fighting fires — and would still have to be available to carry patients."
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