TOMAH, Wis. (WKBT) — During an emergency situation, most of us can expect help to arrive in minutes, but in rural areas, you may be left waiting for an ambulance for up to 45 minutes. Those wait times could increase. A rural EMS shortage is impacting communities all across Wisconsin, including ones in the Coulee Region.
Roughly 9,000 people rely on just 15 full time EMS and paramedics in Tomah.
“Every one of our calls is important,” said Adam Robarge, the deputy EMS chief of Tomah Ambulance Service.
Robarge was born and raised in Tomah and has been with Tomah ambulance for 21 years.
“(It was) just something I got into out of high school,” he said.
From 1973 to 2015, Tomah Ambulance was run by volunteers. Robarge’s dad was one of them.
“Tomah Ambulance became a career department in 2015 where we hired our first full time staff,” Robarge said.
These paid first responders bring the emergency room to their patients because the first few minutes of an emergency are crucial. But delivering care right away is becoming harder.
“There’s calls that’ll take 45 minutes to get to the scene,” Robarge said.
Nationwide, rural EMS agencies are struggling to fill positions.
“Over 90% of the rural EMS agencies are struggling with the shortages of personnel,” said Chris Eberlein, the director of Gundersen Tri-State Ambulance.
What used to be a pool of five to ten applicants has dwindled down to one or two, leaving current staff members working longer hours.
“Occasionally (we) get guys working 72 to 96 hours in a row,” Robarge said.
Because many rural first responders are volunteers, EMS educators say they’re now working around the day-jobs of volunteers.
“It’s more man hours from the education part of it, but that’s what we need to do. We’ve got to think outside the box sometimes,” said EMS educator Tom Carpenter.
As for Robarge and other Tomah first responders, they hope to continue serving their community for as long as they can.
“To see a patient who’s obviously having a really bad day if they’re calling an ambulance, kind of help them. Make them a little more comfortable on the ride to the hospital,” he said.
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