YEAR END REVIEW: Jasper County launches EMS enhancement program to cover response gaps

When the reserve deputy paramedics of the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office arrived on scene to give an overdosing patient a life-saving dose of Narcan to temporarily reverse the symptoms of the narcotics they had consumed, the first words that came out of the man’s mouth were: “Thank you.”

Emergency response teams throughout Iowa — whether they are employed by a municipality or are strictly volunteers — have experienced moments like these in some form. But the decline of volunteerism is leaving some rural communities vulnerable to lower response times and, in some cases, less adequate care.

Jasper County Sheriff’s Office was thrust into a perfect opportunity last year to address the struggles of volunteer agencies and provide extra assistance by creating the advanced life support pilot program. With CARES Act and ARPA money funding the program, the county had the resources to fill in service gaps.

Steve Ashing, one of the two reserve deputy paramedics that launched the program in March 2022, described the opportunity as a perfect storm, lightning in a bottle. Funds were available, two reserve deputies already had paramedic training, the need was there and the county supervisors were willing to try it out.

“Things have aligned just right to make this all work,” Ashing said in the early hours of his Thursday shift. “Having two paramedics as reserves, that is very unheard of in a lot of places. We had an opportunity with a sheriff who is very EMS- and fire service-driven and understands it, which is another anomaly.”

When Newton receives an ambulance call, Ashing said there are always two people who can respond, and then two to four more who can assist the primary responders within five minutes. Generally, there is always someone on scene with paramedic-level experience to administer advanced life support services.

However, when a rural EMS agency responds to a call, the likelihood of having a paramedic with a patient is less certain. Ashing said about every community — if not every community — in Jasper County has at least one paramedic. But life and other factors may limit that individual’s response time.

Which is where the sheriff’s office’s reserve deputy paramedics come into play. When they arrive to a scene in a smaller community or unincorporated territory, they can step in and serve as the primary care provider as they have the highest level of care experience among the volunteer EMTs.

Oftentimes the small town volunteers are still the first teams to respond to calls, but there have been instances where the reserve deputies administered care before other agencies arrived. John Halferty said there are good, dedicated people watching over the small towns, and the program is not taking them away.

If there was an individual suffering a heart attack in one of the rural parts of the county, all the first responders and EMTs know CPR and how to control the airway. But even then a care provider with advanced life support skills is needed to either provide medications or use other methods to restart the heart.

Emergencies that require a timely response to save the patient — like a heart attack or stroke — can still result in a death no matter if a paramedic is on scene or not. But getting that level of provider there is critical to ensuring each patient has the best care possible in their time of need.