Fallon Ambulance Donates Ambulance for Use in the Dominican Republic

Peter Racicot, Senior Vice President of Business Development at Fallon Ambulance, is working with a Boston-based organization, Foundation de Canafiteros de Bani, comprised of fifteen men and women from the Dominican Republic who work in the Boston area to help better the cause of their friends and families back home. Fallon Ambulance has donated an ambulance that was shipped to the island earlier this month. In fact, the President of the Dominican Republic, Hipolito Mejia, visited Boston recently, and members of the organization met with him to ask for his help in expediting the shipping of the ambulance.

The Dominican Republic comprises the eastern two thirds of the island of Hispaniola. The country is bounded on the north by the Atlantic Ocean; on the east by the Mona Passage, which separates it from Puerto Rico; on the south by the Caribbean Sea; and on the west by Haiti. The Dominican Republic is 235 miles long and 165 miles wide. The terrain is mountainous, with peaks exceeding 10,000 feet. And, according to Nancy Baez who helped found Canafiteros de Bani in 2000, ambulances are very much in demand.

“Our town of 5,000 people has a clinic, but for serious medical needs, it is necessary to go to the city of Santo Domingo, which is an hour’s travel,” she said. She noted, “Our community does not have an ambulance, and the generosity of Fallon Ambulance will help us in so many ways.”

The country’s Department of Public Health will oversee the operation of the ambulance, which will be used for Canafistol Bani and surrounding communities.

Ms. Baez’s organization helps people in their native land in a number of ways, including obtaining chairs for the schools and clinics, and uniforms for their Little League teams. “In fact, we transport our children to other communities for higher education,” she said, noting that the town of Canafistol Bani has elementary education facilities only. “Ours is a very rural area,” she said, noting that the ambulance will go a long way toward helping a medical crisis.” We believe that the kind people of Fallon Ambulance will have saved more lives than any of us can know.”

To learn more about the Foundation de Canafiteros de Bani, please call 617-282-4533 or write to Nancy Baez, P.O. Box 191905, Roxbury Station, MA 02119.

The vehicle, which Fallon recently retired from active duty and refurbished for its second life, will help thousands of residents of this country.

"We looked for the first available ambulance coming out of active service and set it aside for the group," said Peter Racicot, Senior Vice President of Business Development at Fallon Ambulance. He added, "Our company has had the opportunity to donate ambulances to a number of needy causes, including remote regions of Poland, Haiti and now the Dominican Republic."

Racicot added, "It is gratifying to know that an ambulance that provided continuous service in our primary coverage area can have a second life in an area where it is so desperately needed. This is a great cause that Ms. Baez and her committee have championed, and we are glad to help. We wish them all the best.”

Fallon Ambulance has consistently donated vehicles to needy and deserving organizations. The 65-year old firm has donated nearly ten ambulances to the country of Poland for medical use, as well as one to the New England Aquarium, and a chair-car van to a needy family through the South Shore Community Action Council. Additionally, the company recently donated a chair car van to a startup company that helps transport handicapped individuals to recreational activities.

Fallon Ambulance Service was founded in 1936 by James R. Fallon, Sr., and has remained a family operated business to this day. The founder’s son, James R. (Ray) Fallon, Jr., and five of his children have all played an integral role in the company’s operation and growth. Fallon Ambulance employs more than 400 personnel, and operates 115 vehicles. The company provides 9-1-1 service to Milton, Quincy, Brookline, Weymouth, Braintree and Dedham as well as primary backup to Boston and Randolph. Fallon Ambulance Service also provides medical transportation for a number of nursing homes, hospitals, and HMOs throughout Greater Boston. Headquarters are at 111 Brook Road, Quincy, MA 02169, and Fallon Ambulance operates satellite offices in Weymouth, Allston and Quincy, MA. A new state-of-the-art headquarters is slated for opening in Quincy in the Fall, 2004. Fallon Ambulance Service is a several-time recipient of the South Shore Chamber of Commerce’s “Success Profile,” and the “local heroes” award by the South Shore Community Action Council. For additional information about Fallon Ambulance services or programs that the company offers, contact Peter Racicot, Senior Vice President of Business Development, at (617) 745-2100, ext. 117 or visit www.fallonambulance.com.