EMS shortage puts services at risk

Alexis Barker
NLJ News Editor
 
With a lack of volunteers in both Upton (pop.  1,075) and Osage (pop. 152), the Weston County commissioners say they are still concerned about emergency medical services in those two communities, despite the recent purchase of Newcastle Ambulance Service by Campbell County Health. 
As previously reported, Campbell County Health will take over the local ambulance service on July 1, a purchase that was announced on May 28. According to Newcastle Ambulance Owner Roger Hespe, Campbell County will take over operation of the four ambulances and ambulance bay currently stationed in Newcastle. 
As part of the agreement, Campbell County Health will bring on the service’s paid staff, they do not rely on volunteers like other Weston County communities, and bring paramedic level services to the community. Hespe reported that currently he does not have paramedics on staff and that this will bring an additional level of care to those in the community. 
The impact on EMS services in the two smaller communities was a priority when Weston County Health Services, the commissioners and the Newcastle City Council were discussing forming a county wide service if the sale of Newcastle Ambulance didn’t happen. 
According to Upton Volunteer Fire Department Chief John Strong a lack of volunteers has hurt staffing of ambulances in both Upton and Osage. 
As a result, he said, Newcastle’s ambulance service often has to respond to calls in those towns. However, he said that volunteers respond to the scene and care for patients until the ambulance arrives. 
“So, essentially, this purchase has nothing to with Upton and Osage,” Commissioner Don Taylor said during a discussion on June 1 with Newcastle Ambulance Service owner Roger Hespe and representatives from Campbell County Health. 
“They (Upton and Osage) are essentially on an island until we get this figured out. They have had manpower shortages in responding,” Taylor said. “Ultimately, at this point, if we need to respond the ambulance is coming from here (Newcastle) to there (Upton.)” 
Taylor said he worried about the patients who have to wait for an ambulance to arrive from Newcastle and then be transported to a hospital.  “I understand the concerns, but I don’t have any authority,” Hespe said. 
While the purchase of Newcastle Ambulance Service addressed the risk of not having EMS services at all, the sale did not directly impact EMS services in Upton and Osage because Hespe did not own those services. 
“What we do in Campbell County is cover the entire county and if that is what needs to happen here, we are open to that,” said Christopher Beltz, a paramedic and director of Campbell County Health’s emergency medical services. “Roger had talked about agreements for us to respond if they can’t, and we would do the same thing.” 
Beltz said it is important that those invested in the venture determine what those communities can provide, the support they need and what the staffing need is. 
“We want to understand things and provide the best EMS service for Newcastle or the county. We will support that the best we can,” Beltz said, noting that additional funding may be needed. 
Currently, according to budgets for both entities, Weston County provides $15,000 to each of the three Weston County ambulance services for a total of $45,000 while the Newcastle provides $100,000 to Newcastle Ambulance Service. According to Beltz, the current county funding for Upton will not sustain the estimated 100 annual calls in Upton the service receives in the area. 
“We may be able to extend services and do other things, but that will take more evaluations and we might need additional funding. We are open to looking at other communities and what we can do to serve those patients,” said Misty Robertson, Campbell County Health’s chief nursing officer. 
Beltz said that it is crucial that the conversation continues between Campbell County Health and the affected Weston County entities. 
“The guarantee I can leave you with today is that if there is a call, an ambulance will respond. You have to understand in Wyoming that ambulances are far away, where they are viable and sustainable. If they (Upton and Osage) can’t respond, we definitely will. This is a team partnership,” Beltz said. 
“I think this is going to have to be a team effort and they are team players. They are professionals and having someone in the ambulance bay to respond all the time will reduce the time,” Hespe said, noting that the ambulances will also be able to handle more severe and critical care with paramedics on hand.