Solutions sought for EMS volunteer shortage

BISMARK, N.D. — The future of EMS is the subject of a series of statewide meetings to discuss the challenges of providing EMS, especially in the face of a declining pool of EMS volunteers.

Most of North Dakota's EMS services rely on volunteer emergency responders and a combination of grants and state and local tax dollars to operate, reported the Public News Service .

"As a state, no one has the magic solution, and so we're just looking for different ideas," said Curt Halmrast, president of the North Dakota EMS Association. "The easy fix is just to pay everybody, but there's not the funding there to do it, nor are there the people."

The association is hosting meetings throughout the state and inviting EMS leaders and providers, as well as local and state legislators, hospital administrators and the general public to participate.

The purpose of the meetings to discuss the future of the North Dakota EMS system including the challenges of the decline in the largest subsidy to EMS systems which is volunteer providers, other funding issues, transport reimbursement, pending regulations, training, and the difficulty in transition to EMS integration into the health care system.