Kossuth County approves EMS promotions and authorizes ventilator maintenance training with retention condition

The Kossuth County Board of Supervisors on April 8 accepted the advancement of three emergency medical services staff to Advanced EMT certification and approved sending a county employee to vendor-run ventilator preventative maintenance training, with a retention requirement tied to two maintenance cycles.

The board voted unanimously to accept certification advancements for Evan Bollinger, Helen Neeves and another staff member who completed the Advanced EMT course and related state testing; the board also acknowledged the change carries a $2 hourly wage increase under the department wage scale. "All three of us passing the test on the first attempt," the EMS presenter said, naming Bollinger and Neeves among those certified.

Why it matters: The actions both acknowledge skill upgrades among EMS personnel and aim to keep ventilator maintenance in-house, which county staff said could reduce future service bills but requires an upfront training cost and a retention agreement to address turnover risk.

Board action and vote: The board approved the certification advancements by voice vote. Later, after discussion of costs and retention risk, the board approved a motion authorizing EMS to attend vendor training to perform preventative maintenance on county ventilators, contingent on a retention commitment equivalent to two maintenance cycles. The amended motion passed 4–1 in a roll-call vote (Haas: yes; Garment: no; Stecker: yes; Wachter: yes; Nance: yes).

Details from the meeting: County EMS leadership told supervisors the vendor that currently performs preventative maintenance — identified in meeting testimony as Hamilton — has stopped allowing outside contractors to do PM work, leaving counties the choice to pay the vendor roughly $3,000 per annual on-site service (plus parts) or to send a staff member to vendor training. The county estimated the total cost to send one employee to the vendor's three‑day class at about $4,200 (roughly $2,500 tuition plus airfare and lodging). "The cost to have Hamilton come service our machines is around $3,000, plus any parts," the EMS presenter said. He added the training option includes initial certification from the vendor and periodic remote updates from the vendor.

Supervisor concerns and conditions: Several supervisors voiced concern that trained staff might leave soon after completing an expensive course. Supervisors suggested a retention agreement; the motion was amended during discussion to require commitment tied to two maintenance cycles (a maintenance cycle was described as roughly annual), and supervisors asked that an agreement be drafted and reviewed with county administration before final enrollment. One supervisor said they preferred to see the proposed contract and confirm employee willingness before finalizing training registration.

Implementation and next steps: The county will work with staff to identify an employee for training, draft a retention agreement (the board asked EMS and county administration to prepare the contract), and sign up for a training slot that can be canceled if the contract or employee consent is not finalized. County staff said the vendor offers training monthly and that the first PM after training would occur the following month; if no county employee attends, the county will continue to pay the vendor to perform services on-site.

Budget and labor notes: The board heard that the wage-scale increase for staff moving from EMT to Advanced EMT is $2 per hour, and supervisors noted the county may recover the upfront training fee within about a year compared with paying the vendor service calls. The motion to authorize training included the retention contingency and explicit direction to draft an agreement for future board review.

Ending: With the amended motion approved 4–1, county staff were directed to draft a retention agreement based on two maintenance cycles and to proceed with arrangements for training contingent on the employee's acceptance of the agreement. The board also requested that EMS return with the contract for review prior to final irreversible expenditures.