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County weighs Round Lake ambulance base as staff shortages and rural response times complicate options
Summary
Supervisors discussed whether to add a third ambulance station near Round Lake; staff warned current shortages of paramedics and low call volumes in the area make a permanent station hard to justify and noted that 30-minute rural response times are not unusual in Wisconsin.
Board members debated proposals for improving ambulance coverage in the Round Lake/Spider Lake area while staff cautioned that staffing shortages and call volumes limit feasible options.
Mike, finance department, said the county is short roughly five paramedics and noted the service is operating at a deficit in part of the year: "the ambulance is running a $225,000 deficit through August 31st," he said, adding that the figure put the service near break-even territory for the reporting period. Staff described alternatives to building a new station, including repositioning an existing ambulance to a semi-permanent base in Round Lake or increasing staffing capacity via training and recruitment.
On the Round Lake question, staff argued that a permanent new station risks being empty much of the time because call volume in the immediate Round Lake/Spider Lake area is relatively low; instead they recommended exploring options such as positioning an existing unit or temporary basing when staffing permits. The board heard that recruiting paramedics is difficult across rural Wisconsin and that J-1 or other seasonal worker approaches have logistical challenges.
A county staff member observed, "a 30 minute response time for an ambulance to arrive is not unusual in rural Wisconsin," a cautionary framing the board said it recognized even as some residents pressed for improved local placement.
The meeting also included an ambulance-billing update: staff said collections are improving under a new billing vendor, current receivables categories tightened and the amount of receivables over 120 days is decreasing.
What happens next: staff will continue to evaluate placement options, recruitment and training timelines and return with data-based options and cost estimates if the board wants to consider a Round Lake placement or other service changes.
