Kokua Line
Kokua Line
Question: What is the basic cost for an ambulance call these days? Also, is there any mileage added on? Ambulance service
fees start at $400Answer: For emergency ambulance services, in which you call 911, you would get a city ambulance.
You are charged $400 "if we just transport the patient," said Donnie Gates, assistance chief for operations of the city's Emergency Medical Services Division. That means nothing is done, except perhaps monitoring the patient.
That's a flat $400 fee, no matter where you are and where you are taken on this island, he said. There is no mileage charge.
You're charged a flat $450 fee if the attendants give you any medication, start an IV, provide life support, etc., Gates said.
The city does have a contract with the one private ambulance company in town -- American Medical Response -- to provide backup service. However, if one of its ambulances is used for an emergency call, you would be charged the flat $400 or $450 fee, Gates said.
If you need an ambulance for nonemergency services, such as transportation from one place to another, call American Medical Response to find out what its rates are. It is listed in the telephone directory.
Q: Can you tell me how Barbara Cox Anthony got her wealth?
A: Anthony, a Honolulu resident, and her sister, Anne Cox Chambers of Atlanta, are heiresses to the Cox media empire. Cox Enterprises includes the Dayton Newspapers and Atlanta Newspapers, as well as cable television companies, radio and television stations, and other enterprises.
Anthony, a well-known philanthropist, is a founder of the Hawaii School for Girls. On this year's Forbes magazine's list of the 400 richest people in the world, Anthony ranked No. 15. She was worth an estimated $9.7 billion.
Auwe
Please warn your readers to be careful when hiring people to do jobs around their house. I am 91 and my husband is 93. Three women came to our door and offered to clean our house for $10 an hour. Our house is not big. They took six hours, but didn't clean our small living room. When I asked them why not, they said it would cost another $10. But they ended up charging me another $30, for a total of $90. They were very aggressive and demanding and I didn't want to argue. But I feel like I was taken advantage of and just want to warn other people to be more careful. -- No name(One rule of thumb involving such business transactions, said Stephen Levins, acting executive director of the state Office of Consumer Protection, is that "if you feel kind of pressured, it's always a good idea to wait and think about it."
(Other tips from Levins: Never pay cash -- with a check, you at least have a record of the transaction; ask for a written estimate; and never pay the full amount until the work is done.
(He also advised asking for a business card and for references, and to call his office, the state Regulatory Industries and Complaints Office and/or the Better Business Bureau to check on whether a license to do business is required and if any complaints had been lodged against the business.)
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