Trending Topics

The realities, challenges and funding of rural EMS

AAA Rural Task Force Chair Justin Grohs joins the podcast to discuss staffing and financial stressors

download.jpeg

In this episode of EMS One-Stop With Rob Lawrence, Rob is joined by Justin Grohs, manager at Great Falls Emergency Services, Montana. Grohs also serves the American Ambulance Association as chair of the Rural Task Force.

Together, they discuss the realities, challenges and funding of rural EMS, where staffing and financial stressors have been further exacerbated by the pandemic.

Read Rob’s article on the market forces impacting rural EMS, “Even not-for-profit doesn’t mean all-for-free,” and listen below.

Rob Lawrence has been a leader in civilian and military EMS for over a quarter of a century. He is currently the director of strategic implementation for PRO EMS and its educational arm, Prodigy EMS, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and part-time executive director of the California Ambulance Association.

He previously served as the chief operating officer of the Richmond Ambulance Authority (Virginia), which won both state and national EMS Agency of the Year awards during his 10-year tenure. Additionally, he served as COO for Paramedics Plus in Alameda County, California.

Prior to emigrating to the U.S. in 2008, Rob served as the COO for the East of England Ambulance Service in Suffolk County, England, and as the executive director of operations and service development for the East Anglian Ambulance NHS Trust. Rob is a former Army officer and graduate of the UK’s Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and served worldwide in a 20-year military career encompassing many prehospital and evacuation leadership roles.

Rob is a board member of the Academy of International Mobile Healthcare Integration (AIMHI) as well as chair of the American Ambulance Association’s State Association Forum. He writes and podcasts for EMS1 and is a member of the EMS1 Editorial Advisory Board. Connect with him on Twitter.