Owsley County is located in the mountains of eastern Kentucky. A rural area encompassing almost 200 square miles, in 2000 Owsley County had a population of only 4,858 people. Booneville, the county seat, had a population of 111 people. Until 1970, Owsley County did not have a formal ambulance service; instead, the local undertaker supplied transportation to hospitals for a fee. In 1970, a new health care program in Perry County, Kentucky began providing ambulance service to neighboring counties, including Owsley. In 1972, the Booneville-Owsley County Volunteer Fire Department was formed; their first truck was a 1948 Chevrolet Chassis. Three years after its beginnings, ambulance services in Owsley County were bankrupt and non-functioning. However, in 1974, a local resident, Dalphus Allen, founded the first permanent ambulance service in that county: Allen's Ambulance Service. On August 28, 1987, University of Kentucky Medical Center began providing the first helicopter ambulance services to rural Kentucky, including Owsley County. Thirty-one years later, both Allen's Ambulance Service as well as the Booneville-Owsley County Volunteer Fire Department continued to serve Owsley County, as did University of Kentucky Air Medical Service.
From the description of A history of emergency services in Owsley County, 2005 (University of Kentucky Libraries). WorldCat record id: 64695275
