South Dakota emergency medical services (EMS) providers are not immune to the staffing shortage plaguing agencies across the United States, KOTA reports.
According to the National Association of EMTs, applications for EMS positions have dropped by an average of 13% compared to 2019. And with volunteerism on the wane, in rural areas like Keystone, communities are transitioning to paid EMS models to keep EMS alive.
Meanwhile, the debate over who should pay for EMS services continues. Most states do not classify EMS as an essential service. That means governments are not required to provide or fund EMS operations.
In South Dakota, House Bill 1219 was introduced to designate EMS as an essential service, but it did not outline funding mechanisms, which led to its demise.
Another tactic being employed to combat the staffing shortage is the creation of more training programs, like the one at Western Dakota Tech.
Marquis Trujillo, co-director of the Western Dakota Tech paramedic training program, told KOTA training programs may be able to gradually erode the staffing shortage:
“If I can take the training and experience that I learned and pass that on to a few more EMTs, and they take that and pass it on, it kind of becomes like a growing tree,” he told the station.
