County approves grant-funded position for emergency office

Members of the county’s personnel committee gave their blessing to a grantfunded position to assist the emergency management director with recruiting personnel for the Medical Reserve Corps program.

The Medical Reserve Corps is a group that assists in emergency and nonemergency situations with first aid, incident support and other activities under the county’s emergency preparedness efforts. The county had received grant funds through the health department for the program.

Emergency Management Director Dan Gellert explained that the goal is to build back up the volunteer base that was lost during and following COVID.

Melissa Moore from the health department gave the example that the group will be running a first aid tent for the Lions snowshoe event in Perkinstown on Feb. 8.

This is the second year of the grant and Moore said they were able to secure additional funding to help with recruitment for the program. In the future, while the program will be managed under the emergency government office, it is hoped it will be largely self sustaining in regards to getting volunteers.

Moore said the grant funded position would allow them the time needed to recruit and increase the base and allow the program to remain sustainable going forward.

The proposal was to have the position contractual and grant funded so that they would remain hired as long as there was grant funds to pay for it. This would give flexibility in the future if the department was able to secure additional grant funding to be able to retain the position. As of right now, the current round of funding is set to expire at the end of June.

“Why would we get more volunteers for this than for ambulance?” asked committee member Scott Mildbrand. He noted the pressing need for ambulance crew members.

Moore explained that the Medical Reserve Corps attracts people who may not be directly medical in nature including people who are veterinarians and pharmacists or others who are not from a medical background but who have taken part in trainings such as the “stop the bleed” one held recently. It was noted that this is also a potential entry point for people to move into being a first responder or onto the ambulance crew.

“I am pretty stoked about it,” Moore said, noting they are looking at ways it could be supported going forward.

Gellert said they currently have 26 registered embedded volunteers and another 15 that are in the process of getting their credentials. The MRC members undergo background checks.

In response to concerns that this would further spread resources, Moore explained that the MRC is not meant to take the place of emergency response but to be more a support for the ambulance or to do things like run mass clinics such as were seen for COVID immunizations.

“I think this is a great program. The more people we have involved the better for our community,” said committee member Lynn Rosemeyer.

Committee member Rollie Thums expressed concern about creating another position for the county.

“When grant funding is done, the grant funding is done,” Moore said.

Heath director Michelle Cahoon explained that they were already required to have a volunteer list and that the list of people had diminished through age and a variety of other reasons. She said that in order to run things like emergency warming stations they would need volunteers to help staff them. She said with her eight staff members they are at a bare minimum to handle anything extra in addition to their existing duties.

Committee chairman Chuck Zenner noted he voted against the request when it came to the law enforcement committee. He said that while he planned to vote for it at the personnel committee, he said departments needed to let committees know before they apply for grants. Zenner said that Gellert had said he had brought it up to law enforcement but that when Zenner checked in the minutes and with other committee members there was no recollection that he had done so. “You need to let us know before you do it,” Zenner said, noting the committee members have to answer for the grants that are received.

“Come to us, that is our job too,” Zenner said.

In other business, committee members:

• Approved making permanent a side letter with the sheriff’s detectives union to continue a practice of having detectives on call on Friday evening through Sunday evening. The practice had been created on a trial basis for the past two years to ensure coverage and also give more scheduling ability to the detectives. They are currently on call every third weekend.

• Received an update from the human resources director on existing vacancies and efforts to fill them. Hagar reported that a detective position remains vacant currently with that to be promoted from within. She said they have filled the deputy position that will become vacant as a result of shifts within the department with the new deputy to begin on January 22. She also reported that the county has received 64 applications for the income benefits position the county approved last month. This is part of a consortium with other counties and is fully grant funded.