Resident urges county to consider Basic Life Support for faster ambulance response

A Washington County resident urged commissioners to consider basic life support as a county response option after attending an ambulance board meeting earlier the same day.

"Sometimes good enough is good enough," Lucy Breton said, describing scenarios where advanced units might be 45 minutes to an hour away and basic crews trained to control bleeding and stabilize patients could make the difference between life and death. Breton told commissioners that a local BLS resource could stabilize patients and transport them to definitive care faster than waiting for advanced services in remote areas.

Breton also expressed concern about the construction timeline for the new 4‑H building and suggested including contractual penalties or bonuses to keep contractors on schedule so the building would be usable for the county fair. Her comments were part of the meeting’s public‑comment period and were not acted on formally by the board during the session.

No formal procurement or policy change was proposed at the meeting; commissioners did not vote on EMS service models during the session. Staff and commissioners acknowledged the public comment and said they would take the concerns into account as related boards continue discussions.