County educator warns rural emergency medical services face reliability, staffing and funding gaps

A regional university Extension educator told the Dunn County Community Resources and Tourism Committee that emergency medical services and volunteer fire departments across the county and region are showing signs of systemic strain and that local leaders should begin planning now for shared or alternative service models.

Garrett Zasteful, regional community and leadership development educator for Chippewa, Dunn and Eau Claire counties, told the committee that Wisconsin has roughly 360 ambulance agencies and about 800 fire departments and that ambulance runs statewide total about one million a year — roughly 2,700 runs per day. He said town governments are statutorily required to provide ambulance service and that a 2023 law (Act 12) added certification and monitoring requirements for agencies and departments.

Why it matters: Zasteful said statutory obligations and certification create a…