Associated Press - November 9, 2009 10:25 AM ET

HACKETT, Ark. (AP) - City officials from small Arkansas and Oklahoma towns are to meet in western Arkansas as they look for funding for a fleet of non-emergency medical vans.

Hackett Mayor Darrell Newton is hosting the Monday meeting. Newton met last month with the mayors of Booneville, Bonanza, Hartford and Rock Island, Okla., to discuss a joint application for funding.

Booneville Community Hospital CEO Dzaidi Daud says he's also spoken with leaders from Charleston, Lavaca, Magazine, Midland and Paris. He says a cooperative effort is considered more favorable by those who issue grants.

The vans were first proposed as a way to provide access to medical care by taking patients to medical facilities throughout the region.

Information from: Southwest Times Record, http://www.swtimes.com/

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