Star Valley Health urges towns to share EMS shortfall as agreement nears expiration

Star Valley Health asked the Star Valley Ranch Town Council on June 9 to work with neighboring towns and Lincoln County to find a sustainable way to fund emergency medical services before the current EMS agreement expires in November 2026. Dan Ordyna, speaking for the hospital, said SVH currently contributes approximately $1.7 million a year to subsidize EMS across the valley and warned that, if no funding commitments are secured, the hospital would have to reassess its role as provider and possibly limit service to jurisdictions that contribute.

The request mattered because county-level funding options fell short this spring. Lincoln County commissioners recently voted against forming an EMS special tax district, a move that SVH said left the hospital and municipalities to negotiate a local solution. Ordyna said the 2021 agreement brought higher-quality paramedic-level care to the region but has created an ongoing deficit.

Council members pressed for more detail. Councilman Merrill requested financial statements from 2021–2025 to understand how the shortfall developed; Ordyna agreed to provide them. Finance Advisory Board member Rand Bitter suggested a cost-sharing formula that accounts for response-time disparities and urged pursuit of federal Rural Health Transformation funds through the Wyoming Hospital Association; Ordyna confirmed federal funds are being pursued but warned they are not a reliable long-term solution.

Council discussion also focused on operational fixes. Councilman Bitter said that the ambulance serving Star Valley Ranch is stationed too far away, producing local response times of 25–30 minutes in some cases; Ordyna said the system-wide average across three stations is about 16 minutes. Ordyna said stationing an ambulance closer to the town—potentially co-located with the local firehouse—would be feasible if the town provided financial support or in-kind contributions such as garage space or living quarters for personnel.

Former Mayor and Water Board member Boyd Siddoway criticized the current arrangement, saying the hospital assumed responsibility after the volunteer system declined and is now seeking municipal subsidies for a program that had been locally owned. Ordyna acknowledged the history but said volunteerism had deteriorated by 2021 and that the hospital upgraded clinical capacity in response.

Next steps: SVH asked Star Valley Ranch, Alpine and Thayne, and Lincoln County to restructure cost-sharing for EMS shortfalls, to include EMS line items in FY2026–27 budgets, and to consider in-kind contributions. Council members requested the hospital’s financial statements and further analysis of response-time impacts before committing funds.