By Chad Drury
Ottumwa Courier
OTTUMWA, Iowa — For over 30 years back in the day, ambulance service in Wapello County was provided by funeral homes.
It’s safe to say the county is seeking a more reliable mode of transportation these days.
During Tuesday’s meeting, the county board of supervisors agreed to consider a resolution that would set up an EMS advisory council, and, in theory, lead the county down the path of turning EMS into an essential service. By agreeing, a 60-day public notice period was triggered, with the first reading of the resolution scheduled for April 8.
Two more readings would then follow, with the final reading May 6, which would formally establish an EMS advisory council.
“We need to build a countywide EMS system that serves the needs of all residents in Wapello County in a sustainable, reliable structure,” said Tim Richmond, the county’s director of emergency management. “But we also have to be very careful and cognizant of what we do and when we do it, because one change in a municipality affects everybody else, and there’s limited resources that we all share.
“So we have to be very intentional about how we develop those services, what they look like and how we support them.”
The supervisors reached this point in the process in July 2023, but for reasons unknown, did not take the issue further. However, Richmond cited the pandemic as a major reason why the county needed to take a look at again.
“The pandemic really changed the way we work. It changed the people available to work, and we saw that with the ‘Great Resignation.’ It really exacerbated a mass retirement by the Baby Boomer generation that we knew was going to happen, just not as rapidly as it did,” Richmond said. “The pandemic was a lot to blame for that, and EMS has really suffered because of it. Plus, we have a new generation of millennials that really love tech jobs, and it’s harder to recruit those kids to some of the more hands-on jobs.”
After the county declined to pursue countywide EMS service, Richmond went to work to create EMT internships in a four-county region, which now is in the hands of Indian Hills Community College. Pay is generally low for EMS workers, and that has been one of the difficulties with landing EMTs.
“The internship programs have been very successful, and those are going on with other types of things like technical trades, welding and construction,” he said. “We’ve learned that if you don’t get to kids when they’re juniors or seniors, we probably lose the opportunity.”
Counties are not required by the state to offer EMS as an essential service, but it has become popular over the last four years, with many lower-income and rural counties taking the lead. Since 2021, 20 counties now offer EMS as an essential service, with six counties approving it in November, including neighboring Appanoose County.
The county would have to put the service to a vote, with at least 60 percent required for passage. The county could levy up to 75 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation for the service, impose a local option surtax not to exceed 1 percent for EMS, or a combination of the two.
The advisory council will be tasked what whatever the board of supervisors sees fit.
“Initially it’s going to be a research arm, but they could have ongoing duties, depending on how the system takes shape,” Richmond said. “It’s basically the advisory arm of the board. Most people aren’t aware EMS is a public service because it’s not required by Iowa Code like fire service and police service.”
EMS has an unusual history in the county, from the 1940s to today. At times, the county and city worked together in some respects, and the county was very close to levying taxes for the service in 1980, but it fell short because a hotel/motel tax referendum was on the ballot.
Then, in 1981, ORMICS started the countywide service with 11 paramedics and five EMTs. Today, the Ottumwa Fire Department is involved in responding to medical calls.
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