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EMS director reports medication shortages and rising suspected overdoses; requests part-time office help and outlines mutual-aid plans
Summary
The county EMS/medical examiner reported supply shortages of critical medications, a recent increase in suspected overdoses, plans for a mutual-aid ambulance arrangement with Glidden, and requested one part-time administrative position to manage calls, inventory and supply tracking.
The county's EMS/medical examiner briefed the Public Safety Committee about supply shortages, an increase in suspected overdoses and a plan for a mutual-aid ambulance arrangement with nearby Glidden.
The speaker identified in the transcript as Mr. Frelle (EMS/medical examiner) said vendors have experienced shortages of medications that the department normally stocks. He described recent efforts to secure supplies, working evenings to resolve procurement issues, and noted some drugs have been unavailable for about three months and are expected to return in August.
On caseload, the speaker said call volumes are up and that the county has seen a rash of possible overdoses. "Unfortunately, I think we're going to be where we were at last year, if maybe higher," the speaker said, adding staff are reviewing toxicology and autopsy reports. He also described one death initially suspected as an overdose that autopsy later found was cardiac.
The department is negotiating a mutual-aid agreement with the Glidden ambulance service so that Glidden ambulances would be dispatched in Clam Lake with Sawyer County intercepts and local first responders would cover a roughly 10-mile service area, the speaker said. He described this as a likely mutual-aid contract to be drafted and reviewed by county staff.
Operationally, the EMS director requested funding for one part-time office staffer to handle high email volume, phone calls during meetings, supply tracking and inventory management. He said ambulance fee revenue has increased and is offsetting some costs; the requested administrative help would also support upgrades to inventory tracking systems.
The speaker urged attention to state-level policy changes that could improve EMS funding, including moves to treat EMS as an essential service and to expand on-site triage/treatment to reduce unnecessary hospital transports. He said Medicaid represents a significant share of calls but reimbursement rates leave EMS underfunded relative to hospitals.
The committee did not take action on the staffing request at the meeting; the discussion was informational and staff were asked to provide more complete reports at future meetings.
