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Legislation brings $264,000 to Ely, establishes new state oversight
Minnesota lawmakers answered an emergency call from emergency service providers around the state pumping millions of dollars into struggling rural ambulance operations.
Ely’s ambulance service, which has been in financial peril for much of the last year, would get $264,384 as a result of emergency services legislation passed in the waning hours of the session that wrapped up Sunday night in St. Paul.
Gov. Tim Walz (D) was set to sign the bill at a ceremony on the Iron Range, at Hoyt Lakes, late Thursday afternoon.
More funding for rural ambulance services was a high priority for both State Sen. Grant Hauschild (D) and State Rep. Roger Skraba (R) during the legislative session, and it culminated in a $30 million aid package approved last week.
“Making sure that we can provide assistance for our local ambulance services so that they can continue operations was a top priority this year,” said Rep. Roger Skraba (R-Ely). “I am so grateful that we were able to get this across the finish line and make sure that folks in our area know that when they dial 911, they can depend on emergency services arriving in a timely manner.”
Hauschild called the ambulance challenges as “life or death for people living in rural communities” and pressed for immediate action.
In an interview Wednesday, Hauschild said “the package we put together for EMS addressed both short term as well as mid to long term” support.
The $264,384 headed to Ely, as well as allocations ranging from $106,000 to $163,000 going to ambulance operations in nearby Babbitt, Tower, Cook, Orr and Hoyt Lakes, is part of an effort to “get funding distributed to the most in-need service places.”
He noted the legislation excluded ambulance operations in the Twin Cities metropolitan areas as well as those in major hubs including Duluth, St. Cloud and Rochester, where ambulance services remain profitable.
The ambulance issue has dominated local political discussions for several months, with Ely-Bloomenson Community Hospital commissioning a study to look at options.
Currently, ambulance services locally are provided by the non-profit Ely Area Ambulance Service, but that organization has needed cash infusions from local units of government to stay afloat.
While the funding for Ely is a short-term solution, Hauschild said that ambulance providers that he has heard from are satisfied and excited about the allocations, which figure to stem at least some of the immediate financial woes.
Meanwhile, the legislation also aims to address the root of some of the challenges facing rural ambulance services.
The legislation took recommendations from a report commissioned by the Office of the Legislative Auditor, and identified reform ideas that Hauschild said “will create more transparency and more responsibility,” including creation of a new state office, with a governor appointee overseeing emergency services.
“It’s proactive positive stuff and this office will be much more involved,” said Hauschild.
The package also includes innovation, including the creation of a “Sprint Medic” ambulance support pilot operation including one on the Iron Range.
“This will provide a sprint medic in a car to patrol the region to try to reach calls when maybe an ambulance service isn’t necessary,” said Hauschild. “They can provide life-saving care, and then if needed rely on regional hubs to respond with ambulance. I think there’s some questioning whether that’s the right model, and I don’t disagree with some of the questioning, but I’m willing to give it a shot to see if it’s something that provides relief.”
Hauschild said that state-level discussions about ambulance service are likely to continue.
“I think we did a good job of addressing both short term and long term issues,” he said. “Now we have to consider whether ambulance services are considered essential services like police and fire. If that’s the case we have to determine what role the state plays if any at all.”
The funding provided by the state falls far short of original proposals that would have pumped as much as $120 million in one-time assistance.
The legislation came as Ely’s ambulance service faces a financial crisis that threatens its future, and with many other services across the state facing similar circumstances.
EMS services face an array of challenges, including the reimbursement shortfalls as well as issues related to attracting and retaining personnel.
That has led to both the financial woes for many ambulance services along with slow response time in some areas.
