Emery County officials and state lawmaker outline rural health funds and consider TRT pay to retain Green River EMS staff

At a community meeting in Green River, Emery County officials and state Representative Logan Monson described both an infusion of federal rural health funding at the state level and local ideas to address critical gaps in emergency medical services.

Rep. Logan Monson, vice chair of the House Health and Human Services Committee, told the audience the state expects to receive roughly $160,000,000 a year for five years from federal rural health transformation funding to support rural health initiatives and encouraged county-city coordination to expand services. "We are expecting at the state to get around a $160,000,000 a year for the next 5 years to find ways to transform rural health," Monson said.

Residents had described long ambulance waits and treatment in nonmedical vehicles; one resident warned bluntly about delayed response times: "You will die," underscoring the urgency of the problem. County speakers acknowledged the service gap and described EMS governance and funding options. Officials said Emery County created a special service district for EMS in 2020; the commission debated whether EMS should remain in that district or be returned to county management, noting implications for local control and representation on the district board.

To address staffing shortfalls, commissioners discussed targeted retention incentives. The travel board considered directing roughly $25,000 in TRT (transient room tax) mitigation dollars toward weekend retention pay for Green River, an amount speakers estimated could provide about $500 per weekend. One commissioner summarized the approach: if local retention improved, "it's a win for everybody." Officials also floated the idea of a larger seed package—on the order of $1,000,000—with an intergovernmental agreement allowing the county to manage EMS locally for a defined multi-year period, then re-evaluate.

Speakers walked through compensation details they said affect recruitment: earlier stipend arrangements offered about $60 per shift for on-call personnel who live outside Green River (numbers given as approximate); the district increased on-call pay from $1 to $4 per hour; reported hourly pay ranges included roughly $12–$14 for drivers, about $17 for EMTs and a little over $20 for advanced EMTs. Officials said those modest changes have helped but that coverage remains fragile, especially on weekends.

County leaders encouraged residents and city officials to negotiate a formal agreement among city, county and the EMS district before reallocating TRT or county funds. They also urged community members to attend department budget hearings to press for sustained support.

The meeting produced no formal vote or adoption of funding changes; officials said options would be discussed further with the travel board, district leadership and city representatives before any financial commitment.