The stretch of U.S. 93 between Polson and Kalispell is scenic and carries heavy traffic through the rural area and its small communities such as Lakeside, Somers and Elmo.

For many years, when crisis struck in these communities, long waits were standard as ambulances or emergency personnel had to come long distances for help. That changed in the 1980s with the creation of the Lakeside Quick Response Unit.

“The next nearest ambulance is Bigfork, Kalispell or Polson,” Lakeside Quick Response Unit President Brian Reed said. “That’s quite a bit of distance between those communities and the area is quite large. People would have to wait quite long if we didn’t have the QRU.”

A ham dinner fundraiser will be held June 5 for the quick-response unit. The event will be catered by Vista Linda and kicks off at 3 p.m. at the unit’s building on Bill’s Road in Lakeside. The cost is $10 per person. Children under age 6 eat free. The dinner includes a plate full of food that unit members say is filling and delicious.

Paramedic Mary Granger has been with the Lakeside QRU since its genesis in the 1980s, when community members noticed that patients needed care during critical moments immediately after a crash.

“It took too long to get from Kalispell to Lakeside,” Granger said.

The group used an old beat-up Suburban from 1981 until 1994, when a used ambulance was purchased.

“We ran the wheels off of it,” Lakeside Quick Response Unit Board Member Lois Lauman said. “We really needed something we could depend on.”

In 2007 another used ambulance was purchased from Bigfork, but it has needed many repairs and the board currently has a brand-new ambulance on order and Lauman is hopeful it will be ready by year’s end.

Currently the board is trying to raise $50,000 to equip the new ambulance.

“We are very frugal with our money and we don’t buy things we don’t need,” Lauman said.

She pointed out that the other ambulance services in the county have the benefit of having tax districts to fund their services, but Lakeside Quick Response Unit does not have that funding mechanism. Instead, it operates primarily off of donations.

“Any amount is perfect,” Lauman said. “I don’t care if it is a $1 donation or a $500 donation.”

The donations are tax-deductible and help the 15-member volunteer unit operate. Reed said that quality of service is high for the small community. The unit responds to an average of one call per day, and most days one of the four available paramedics is on duty.

“To me it is pretty amazing for a small town,” Reed said.

Those unable to attend the fundraiser can send donations to P.O. Box 911, Lakeside, MT 59902. Volunteers are always welcome to help work the unit.

Reporter Megan Strickland can be reached at 758-4459 or mstrickland@dailyinterlake.com.