GLENWOOD, Iowa (KMTV) — The Mills County Board of Supervisors is considering a resolution to declare emergency medical services an essential service. In Iowa, EMS isn't considered an essential service, which makes it harder for local governments to fund ambulance services.
- Glenwood Fire Chief Matt Gray: "It would be a source of revenue for the fire department to basically help pay for staffing. Also, equipment training that we need."
- Malvern EMS chief Andrea Mills says it's vital. In September I interviewed the two grandmothers who are the only EMTs on Malvern's day shift: "Volunteer numbers are down. We don't have the people that we used to respond to calls."
- RELATED | 'We need volunteers': Two grandmothers staff the day shift for Malvern Rescue
WATCH KATRINA'S STORY HERE
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
There's an urgent need throughout rural America to keep ambulance services staffed and running.
I'm Southwest Iowa neighborhood reporter Katrina Markel in Mills County where the board of supervisors is considering a new way to fund county-wide EMS.
Believe it or not, ambulance services are not considered essential in the state of Iowa. In other words, communities do not have to fund a rescue squad.
Supervisor Richard Crouch: "I will make a motion to...."
To cope with expensive equipment and training, not to mention a shrinking pool of volunteers, the Mills County board is considering a resolution to declare emergency medical services essential.
Katrina Markel: "What would that mean for Glenwood, for your fire department? Because you're already covering some of the small towns?"
Glenwood Fire Chief Matt Gray: "It would be a source of revenue for the fire department to basically help pay for staffing. Also, equipment training that we need."
It allows the county to fund rescue services with local taxes.
Gray: "We can put additional people on duty because there's times where we have two or three calls back-to-back."
Malvern EMS chief Andrea Mills says it's vital. In September I interviewed the two grandmothers who are the only EMTs on Malvern's day shift.
"Volunteer numbers are down," said Mills. "We don't have the people that we used to respond to calls."
Sarah Curry lives near the Fremont County line. The closest ambulance service is in another county. She suggested a different tax structure for neighbors not using Mills County rescue squads: "It might be more fair and more equitable."
Silver City and Oak Township cover a wide swath of northern Mills County, all with volunteers. Its EMS Chief, John Stacey, had suggestions for the proposed advisory council.
"Number one, I want to make sure that it's applied equally and that the people that comprise this board are the people that have boots-on-the-ground experience," he said.
Overall, the county EMS officials were supportive of the resolution.
There will still be a couple more readings of the resolution before anything is finalized.
