County committee hears ambulance service complaint
A letter from a resident complaining about how an ambulance call was handled prompted a discussion at the March 13 law enforcement and emergency services committee.
As reported at the meeting, the Western Taylor County resident had written critical of the ambulance service’s response during a December 28 incident. This was a situation where the medical technician based in Gilman responded with the Gilman ambulance and began an assessment of the patient while the full ambulance crew out of Medford was en route. After the ambulance arrived, the patient declined transport choosing to go to the hospital in a private vehicle.
Taylor County Team Lead Corey Resch responded to the committee’s questions over the specific call, noting he was one of the people responding. He explained that it had occurred during shift change while both Medford 1 and Medford 2 were out. His ambulance was on the road when the call came in and responded as the page went out. He explained that winter road conditions slowed them down a little bit but also said that he made contact with the family when he arrived who expressed their displeasure.
“We did the best we could,” Resch said. This is the second time committee members have addressed the same incident. Committee chair Lynn Rosemeyer noted that it was discussed at the January law enforcement committee meeting when a concern was raised by supervisor Karen Cummings who represents that area.
Last year, the county board approved a contract for ambulance service wth Aspirus that had one EMS stationed at the each of the Gilman and Rib Lake locations to provide immediate response and begin patient care while a transport crew was en route from Medford. Under the contract, ambulances require a crew of three people to transport a patient.
The hope was that on-call volunteers would help assist in filling in at the rural areas, as they have done historically. However, there continues to be a shortage of individuals willing to step forward to become EMTs.
In other ambulance business, committee members received the billing for the 2024 ambulance contract. The total amount billed to the county was $1,835,370.09. This is below the contracted rate of $1,904,433 because it was prorated due to changes made following the first quarter of 2024 to increase staff levels increasing the cost from $1,628,181.35 to $1,904,433.
County finance director Tracy Hartwig noted that because the ambulance service is paid for through a special levy on the county taxes the money left over from this year can only be applied to reduce next year’s ambulance service levy amount.
The contract renewed for 2025 and under its terms increases 4% or the consumer price index, whichever was lower. The contracted price for 2025 is $1,961,565.99. In the future, the county will be billed throughout the year rather than having the bill come in one lump sum. Hartwig asked for direction from the committee about who had the formal authority to sign the invoice for the bill to be paid. Committee members voted to direct human resources director/county coordinator Nicole Hager and Hartwig to sign the invoices when they come in.
In other business, committee members:
• Received word that there were currently 42 inmates in the jail with 15 of them from Marathon County and four from Price County.
• Received word that Motorola was on site to set up the new body cameras for the deputies. Sheriff Corey Dassow said the company representatives told him to expect the devices to last between five and seven years. It was suggested that he begin putting money aside in his budget to have it on hand when they need to be replaced in the future. “The technology is what kicks our butt,” Dassow said.
• Received an update on recent trainings attended by emergency management director Dan Gellert for hazardous materials and response training. Gellert noted that there has been an increased push toward training to respond to weapons of mass destruction.
“We did the best we could.”
— Corey Resch, Taylor County Ambulance Team Lead
