ALTOONA, Pa. (WTAJ) — AMED has broken ground on their new ambulance station in the Lakemont section of Altoona.

The building will be the station for emergency services, but will also serve as a training facility and provide educational programs for the community.

AMED’s executive director, Gary Watters, said he hopes the new building will help get more people interested in the field.

“Currently there is a real shortage of EMS providers,” Watters said. “It’s going to be key to be able to hire people who are not trained and train them into becoming EMS providers. It has to be the way of the future for us because we can’t find people to hire at this point.”

AMED handles more than 22,000 calls for service a year.

The building is expected to be complete by May 2020. It will be located at the corner of Shand Avenue and Reimer Street in Altoona, which is across from PNG Field.