Worland resident makes plea to keep paid ambulance service
WORLAND — Mike St Clair stood in front of the Washakie County Commissioners Tuesday and said, “I have often wondered if a paramedic was onsite, would my dad’s outcome have been different?”
St Clair was at the regular Tuesday meeting to urge the commissioners to do what they could to procure funding to keep the current ambulance service with Cody Regional Health, instead of reverting back to a volunteer operation.
As reported April 18, 2024, by the Northern Wyoming News, the funding the county had to pay for ground ambulance service will run out at the start of the July 1 fiscal year, and an alternative sustainable funding source will need to be established.
“The future of the ambulance as a volunteer organization is not viable,” St Clair told the commissioners. “You have the ability to form an analyst district board, educate the taxpayers about the benefit and put it to a vote.”
He touched on how ambulance service, unlike fire, is not considered an essential function in the state of Wyoming. Therefore, the state is not obligated to help with funding.
“We consider the ambulance service as essential, even though the state doesn’t,” said Commissioner Chairman Terry Wolf. “Funding possibilities are in the works right now.”
Wolf added that once there’s more clarity, the commissioners will put out a Request for Proposal to get input from the public and look at options on how to fund the service going forward.
St Clair is currently employed as an ambulance driver with Cody Regional and was previously a
volunteer. He emphasized that paramedics provide a much higher level of care than volunteers who are only trained and equipped for basic life support.
“I am not here to speak as an employee, but as a longtime resident of Washakie County. We are an aging community, and within 10 years, most of us will need an ambulance,” said St Clair. “If you need help or a loved one is having a severe heart attack or has a farming accident, a paramedic on site is more likely to have a positive outcome. They can administer drugs, perform assessments and treatments, and have significantly greater medical knowledge than any other level of pre-hospital provider. Delay in proper care will change the outcome of patient recovery.”
The Washakie County commissioners have scheduled a budget work session from 9 a.m. to noon on Tuesday, May 13 for discussion purposes only. No action will be taken at the meeting.
This story was published on May 8, 2025.