Woodbury County explores options as EMS call volume rises and volunteers decline

Drew Beyer, Woodbury County emergency services director, told the outreach meeting that the county's 24/7 duty crew exists to support volunteer fire and ambulance departments across the county but that call volumes and staffing shortages are making coverage more difficult.

"Our main function, main mission is EMS," Beyer said, describing instances when volunteer departments could not respond and the duty crew had to provide advanced-care support or transport. He said daytime call clusters and an ongoing shortage of EMTs and paramedics have produced multiple instances when adjoining units were paged and unable to respond.

Supervisor Mark Nelson described a recent incident in which an elderly resident waited roughly 40 minutes for care because local volunteer units were not available; the example underscored the board's concern about coverage gaps and the potential need to adjust staffing. Nelson noted that the state has created a legal pathway by which voters can make EMS an essential service via referendum, but he said electing that route is a last resort and the board wants public input before pursuing any tax change.

Supervisors asked for historical response-time and service-level data so they can show taxpayers the scope of coverage problems before weighing budget changes. Residents and supervisors discussed balancing paid staff and volunteers to avoid undermining volunteer recruitment while ensuring reliable coverage.

The board said it will gather the requested data, discuss budget options during the upcoming budget process and seek public input before making a final decision.