Supervisors provide startup funds for countywide EMS affiliation

Funding has been set aside by the board of supervisors for an EMS affiliation made up of all emergency medical services in Jasper County, and the money will specifically finance a medical director position, a countywide protocol app, an in-house supply depot at the Jasper County EMA office and continued training.

Steve Ashing, deputy director of Jasper County EMA, said the state recommends smaller agencies with lower call volumes establish an affiliation. The purpose of the affiliation is to help each agency with administrative duties like quality assurance policies and making sure all policies are followed correctly.

To get the affiliation started, it needs investment. Ashing asked the supervisors for more than $66,000 upfront and more than $43,000 for ongoing expenses.

Funds would pay for a medical director, which is a position most agencies have but often on a volunteer basis. It can be challenging asking them to do more.

“Maybe we want a little bit more out of that person, but they’re volunteering their time and we’re not paying for anything,” Ashing said to the supervisors. “So what kind of leverage do we really have to request anything? This proposal that we have is a paid position. It’s $10,000 a year for that position.”

Ashing said Dr. Matthew Ferguson, who practices family medicine in Newton, is the likely candidate to fill that position. But not all the funds will go toward this position. Other funds will be allocated towards a protocol app for first responders throughout Jasper County.

Medical protocols provide the framework for responders when responding to patient care without doctor’s orders. There are pre-approved doctor’s orders that responders can operate from within. Currently, those protocols are all paper copy. But there are companies that transition the paper copies into a mobile app.

“So our providers, when they’re at the patient’s side, can pull the app up, put the patient’s weight in, find what protocol they need to do instantly,” Ashing said. “And it gives them medical doses that are calculated for them so they don’t have to do the math in their head, and it takes them through those high-risk procedures.”

Ashing also proposed that funds be used to develop a supply depot. Supplies for first responders are always an issue, he said, and this proposal would have the Jasper County EMA office — located in the county’s armory building — house a single supply depot for all agencies to restock.

“It helps the smaller agencies that may use one or two of something a year,” Ashing said. “They don’t have to buy a case (of a certain type of supply). We can have one central supply that can disseminate and hopefully save everyone money at the end of the day.”

Training would also be a priority, and the funding would specifically provide new training and continuing education for current first responders.

“You guys were gracious enough to give us some funding for some EMT training this past year, and we’d just like to continue that and keep that process going,” Ashing said. “…The grand total there is $66,244 for the initial investment, and the ongoing costs are estimated at $43,328 on the back.”

Following some discussion, the board of supervisors agreed to provide the affiliation the requested funds. Supervisor Brandon Talsma said the startup funds will be taken from Local Options Sales Tax for the current fiscal year, and the ongoing expenses will come out of the same funding stream next fiscal year.

“It’s benefitting every agency in the county, as well as every citizen in the county,” Talsma said. “For no more than what it costs, I think it will help bring uniformity and fill in some of the gaps, especially on the clerical and more administrative side of things. I know a lot of those smaller departments are struggling with that.”