Cleaner air is the goal of grant

Franciscan St. Margaret HealthDyer and Hammond and Franciscan St. Anthony Health-Crown Point will share a $52,500 grant provided through a BP Cleaner Air through Diesel Emission Reductions program, in conjunction with a consortium of area environmental groups and South Shore Clean Cities, to help reduce ambulance emissions outside of their emergency departments.

The funds will be used to purchase seven Medidok Idle Reduction Kiosks that plug into ambulances and keep vital systems operating without running an engine and emitting potentially harmful fumes, while the vehicle is parked.

The funds will be matched by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management Dieselwise program, to complete the installation process.

The hospitals’ emergency departments combined receive some 21,000 ambulance drop-offs annually. The devices are expected to save 1,700 gallons of fuel during that time.