By Carrie Moritz, Gazette
The Garretson Ambulance has been busy.
"We had 16 calls in April," Garretson Ambulance Director Kurtis Nelson said to the City Council on Monday. "We're up to 92 so far this year."
Last year, they had a record-breaking year with 287 calls, topping their record-breaking year of 266 calls in 2023, and they're on track to break it again, if calls continue at this rate.
For a crew of 17 Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT), this is a lot of pressure, and Nelson is hoping two more join the crew when the current EMT class is finished. However, he would love to see more volunteers, as it's currently around 6 EMT-certified volunteers who are taking on the bulk of the work. This not only strains the service, but puts people in danger for burnout.
"It's hard to find folks who live in town and have a job that lets them get away for 2 or more hours on a call," he said. "However, we aren't big enough to pay people."
The cost of ambulance services is a problem state-wide, and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) directors are stuck between a rock and a hard place. They cannot get enough volunteers, and they don't make enough money from their calls to do more than barely sustain the service, let alone pay their first responders.
"I don't know another ambulance service provider that doesn't have another job, whether it's a second EMS job or other type of work," Nelson pointed out.
Even Nelson has a full-time job at EROs, and he said several EMTs work out there.
"We need bodies," he said bluntly, but between the length of call times and the need to take certifying classes, he's aware that it's a big ask.
The state has helped somewhat in relieving ambulance services of their burden, Nelson said. In 2021, the state legislature approved a $20 million dollar funding measure that provided radios and other equipment, such as the iPad used for on-the-road medical services. They relaxed the requirements for providers, reducing the need for as many providers on a call. Some services have moved to regional instead of local, which helps reduce volunteer burnout but increases the response time. In some more rural areas of South Dakota, that response time has increased to thirty minutes.
In Nelson's view, that isn't okay. Lowered response times are correlated to better health outcomes for the patient.
The Garretson Ambulance prides itself on its quick response time, which in conjunction with the local fire department and Minnehaha Sheriff's office, is less than ten minutes, and he'd like to keep it that way.
Minnehaha County Ordinance MC31-6-19 requires a maximum response time of fifteen minutes for 90% of ambulance calls, or the service could risk losing its license.
When asked if the number of EMTs on the fire department helps solve his problem, however, he shook his head. They don't go on ambulance runs, he pointed out.
For anyone interested in joining the Garretson Ambulance, EMT classes are held three times a year online through Sanford, Southeast Tech, and the School of EMS.
However, according to Nelson, in-person classes are better.
"We go over things that pertain more to rural providers than they do," he pointed out. Those are offered twice per year depending on interest. Stipends are often available to help the defray costs of the class and the exam.
To sign up for the classes, contact the Garretson Ambulance at (605) 594-2043.
