Riga, May 5, 2016 – On Friday, May 6, U.S. Embassy Riga Chargé d’Affaires Sharon Hudson-Dean, Ministry of Health Deputy State Secretary Kārlis Ketners and State Emergency Medical Service (SEMS) Director Sarmīte Villere will participate in a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the completion an emergency vehicle garage at the District Ambulance Support Station (DASS) ‘Krasts’ in Riga. Valued at nearly $800,000, the project was carried out through U.S. European Command’s Civic Engagement program in conjunction with the Ministry of Health, the State Emergency Medical Service, LLC “Healthcare Real Estate”, Veselības Centrs 4, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the U.S. Embassy Office of Defense Cooperation (ODC Latvia).
The new center will serve as a hub for eight medical teams servicing an area of 408 square kilometers and more than 217,000 people in the Latgale administrative district, and the Salaspils, Baldones and Stopini regions. DASS ‘Krasts’, which previously operated out of four different locations in the region, has now consolidated its operations into the new facility and will offer a comfortable work environment for staff, a garage for parking and maintenance of emergency medical service vehicles, and warehouse space.
Since 2007, ODC Latvia has completed 10 fire station renovation and construction projects, in addition to several projects at schools, orphanages and senior citizen homes. These projects total $5.2 million USD in direct investment to the local economy as a result of the use of local vendors. For more information about the Office of Defense Cooperation Civic Engagement programs in Latvia, please see: https://lv.usembassy.gov/our-relationship/policy-history/civic-engagements/.
NOTE TO THE EDITOR:
The ribbon-cutting ceremony will start at 13:00 on Friday, May 6, at Grebenscikova street 1, Riga (entrance from Pirts street). The event is open to media. Please plan to arrive no later than 12:45. For more information, please contact the U.S. Embassy’s Public Affairs Section:
