Club donates to ambulance service

The Clintonville Lions Club gave $5,000 to the Clintonville Area Ambulance Service to help buy defibrillators for its ambulances.

The LifePak 15 monitor/defibrillators will replace old units that could no longer be repaired.

Four new units, one for each ambulance, were purchased at a cost of $97,000. They were purchased on a five-year payback plan with a one-time payment of just under $20,000 each of the five years. The ambulance service has a goal of fundraising at least $20,000 a year until the monitors are paid for.

A total of $29,000 has been raised so far since the fundraising efforts began in March, and with the Clintonville Lions donation, according the ambulance service’s executive director, Don Kimlicka,

“This week we were able to make our first payment,” Kimlicka said. “Our most immediate goal is to now raise the funds needed for next year’s payment. The Clintonville Lions donation towards that goal is greatly appreciated.”

An additional $10,000 must be raised within the next year from organizations, the business community and individual residents to be able to make the second payment next summer. Donations can be dropped off at or mailed to the ambulance service office, 3 S. Main St., Clintonville, WI, 54929.

“One of the missions of Lions worldwide is to make a difference in the communities we serve by improving health and wellness,” stated Clintonville Lions club member Cinthy Helms, who along with club member Jerry Oestreich presented the donation to the ambulance service. “Our club is already involved with vision screening, eye exam and eyeglass assistance for those in need and used eyeglass collection and recycling. This $5,000 donation towards the purchase of the heart monitors is just further example of the commitment we Lions have to the betterment of our community.”

Area Lions clubs and a Lioness club have together contributed the most funds toward the monitors. To date, the Bear Creek Lions have donated $2,330, Marion Lions donated $1,000, Marion Lioness donated $100 and Caroline Lions donated $250. Including the Clintonville Lions donation, the total the clubs have donated is $8,680.

Spearheading the ambulance service’s fundraising efforts is their critical care paramedic Joyce Phalen.

“We had old, sometimes not the most reliable monitors of different models in our ambulances,” Phalen said. “For the first time we have all four monitors the same. And these are the best monitors available. The addition of these monitors makes it so much better for our personnel to provide the critical care needed for individuals experiencing a cardiac event.

“Our goal is to always strive to provide the best ambulance service possible. The purchase of the new monitors helps us in that effort,” Phalen said.

The four new monitors went into service June 1. One of the monitor/defibrillators already saved a life. The individual is home recovering and doing well, according to Kimlicka.