Commissioners express a desire to help rural EMS squads

By Tom Hintgen

Otter Tail County Correspondent

County commissioners, on Jan. 9, provided input on solutions to the growing challenges of maintaining viable Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in Otter Tail County and in other areas of rural Minnesota.

Board members attended a gathering of the state legislative EMS Joint Task Force which held a listening session in Elbow Lake. Two members of the task force include State Sen. Jordan Rasmusson and State Rep. Jeff Backer.

Said Rasmusson, “Rural EMS faces unique challenges, including higher fixed costs, recruiting and retaining its workforce. I’m eager to work with bipartisan legislators to provide high-quality healthcare to all Minnesotans.”

While ambulance response times in urban areas can be as low as five to 10 minutes, those numbers are much higher in many rural areas of Minnesota.

The task force will be hosting meetings across the state over the next few months. Recommendations will be submitted no later than August 15 and be acted upon in 2025 by the state legislature.

“Those operating EMS need help right now, and our county board will suggest a temporary funding bill from the 2024 legislature,” said county board member Wayne Johnson of Pelican Rapids.

Agreeing with Johnson, that help is needed right now, is Rep. John Huot of Rosemount, Minn. 

“We need solutions ahead of 2025. Let’s dig into this problem and fix it. It’s dire,” he said.

Dr. Mike Wilcox, a physician in New Prague, spoke during a press conference before the task force’s first meeting. 

“I’m concerned about the sustainability of EMS in the rural parts of our state,” he said. “It’s near collapse in many areas and it needs to be appropriately watched over and assisted.”

All concerned agree that it is necessary to provide viable EMS across the state of Minnesota.