Greetings everyone. It’s been quite a while since we have written a column, so here is an update on some of what has been happening.
We went to Pierre for EMS Day at the Capitol in Januarywherewemetwith Governor Noem and were recognized in the House and Senate. There are a few laws that have been passed that will change some of what we do in EMS. One new change is in how we are certified in the state of South Dakota in (SB 87). There are four levels of EMS Providers in the nation, EMR (Emergency Medical Responder), EMT (Emergency Medical Technician, ALS (Advanced Life Support), and Paramedic. At this time, EMRs and EMTs certify through the SD Department of Health and ALS and Paramedic Providers certify under the SD Board of Medical and Osteopathic Examiners. Beginning in 2025 we will all be certifying under the SD Board of M&OE. This change also gives us two seats on the board allowing us to voice an opinion in how we perform our duties. This will hopefully be a positive move in the right direction for us to be recognized as professionals in healthcare. Currently EMS is overseen by the Dept of Transportation/ NHTSAatthenationallevel because in 1966 there was a study published about traffic accidents and how to reduce fatalities called “Accidental Death and Disability: The Neglected Disease of Modern Society” also known as “The White Paper”. Back then, ambulance services were generally hearses with untrained personnel, used basically to get people to a hospital in a reclined position for emergency care. Since then, our role has expanded to include extensive training for assessment and treatment in the field along with transport to a critical care emergency room. But because we were originally established under the DOT, not the Department of Health, we continue to serve under NHTSA.
We are also looking at purchasing new equipment for our service. Generally we utilize the donations we receive throughout the year, but because the cost of equipment is extremely high, we don’t always have enough to get what we need. For example, a new stretcher costs about $14,000, the auto-loading mechanism for that stretcher is $32,000, and an electric stair chair is around $19,500. While we watch the age of the average EMT increasing, this upgraded equipment would allow us to continue to perform our duties longer, plus it’s an improvement for the patient for safety and comfort purposes. The state has opened a grant for this year only to allow us to purchase this type of equipment. This new grant is offered through one of the SD DOH initiatives called the Regional Services Designation which included an assessment of EMS in our state. The goal of the RSD Initiative is to help improve the sustainability of EMS in SD. Over 75% of our ambulance services are volunteer. JCA is a paid volunteer service in that we pay for calls taken, along with on-call time for weekends and holidays, but many services are not paid at all. Because most crew members have other priorities, it is sometimes difficult to staff an ambulance. The dynamics of families have changed, leaving little time to volunteer in the capacity as an EMT. Unfortunately, this reflects on quality patient care. More services are closing down because of the rising cost of operations and dwindling numbers of crew members, at least five this year in South Dakota alone.
That being said, we are always recruiting. Our service loves our community and always wants to do what we can for each and every one of you. In light of the recent tragedy in our community, we fear that some of you who might have been considering becoming an EMT, might now not want to because you aren’t sure you can handle that type of situation. Please know that we understand not everyone is wired to do what we do. But that’s one good thing about being a volunteer, you always have the option to say “nope, not today, not this call”. Here are some Jerauld County Ambulance stats for you to consider. In 2023, 13% of our calls were categorized as “assist”, meaning we didn’t haul a patient because they didn’t require emergency hospital care or we assisted another agency such as our fire department. Only 14% of our calls were what we consider “critical” as in life-threatening. Another 36% of our calls were “non-critical” 911 calls, as in the patient needed prehospital care, but not in a life-threatening situation. Lastly, 37% of our calls were “IFT” or “Interfacility Transfers” for higher levels of care. Because we are certified as an Emergency Care Service, we are required to always have at least one EMT and one EVOC driver available in our coverage area (Jerauld County) for prehospital emergencies. Those IFT calls are the ones that we really struggle getting help with, as they require a time commitment, most times up to five hours. The extra crew is what we need to help cover for emergencies while we are gone or go on the transfer so someone else is available for 911 calls.
We are considering having a summertime EMT course for anyone who wants to join us beginning the end of May or early June, or possibly a fall course depending on interest. This is not a simple Basic First Aid class. It’s an intense course, which requires 125 hours of inclass commitment, about 75 hours of homework, along with at least 10 hours of clinicals. Then you have to take a National Exam to become registered, and THEN you have to apply to be certified in SD before you can practice as an EMT. Typically this course would cost students well over $1000 plus around $200 to get certified, but we are offering it for free if you join our team as an EMT. Jerauld County Ambulance pays $250 PLUS any call attended for every on-call weekend and $125 for Holiday on-call time. We also pay EMTs $75 for local calls, $100 for Huron calls, $125 for Mitchell calls, and $185 for Sioux Falls calls. This breaks down to $37$50/hour compensation for your time. Not bad for a part-time gig. Also, the extra rewards are amazing. Typically when you see us, you are having a really bad day, and when we hear “thank you for doing what you do”, or get a wave and a smile from the kids at the school, or have a patient or family member thank us for being there for their loved one, it makes it all worthwhile. Those are the real rewards for us.
So please call Deb at 605-770-5137 or email us at jerauldamb@venturecomm.net if you are interested in becoming a team member. Please stay safe and healthy out there and thank you for everything you do for us.