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- Juab County Commissioners hear that East Juab Ambulance Association needs a few more members
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By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent
East Juab Ambulance Association needs to have a few more members to do the work of providing emergency medical care to those on the East side of the county.
Brett Ostler, representing the association on the agenda item, asked commissioners if there was a firm number of members allowed for the association. Also representing the association at the meeting was Cody Anderson, the new president.
"It is 50 total members," said Val Jones, commission chairman.
The numbers do not include West Juab Ambulance, based in Eureka, and also under county jurisdiction, nor Levan, which has its own ambulance association.
The 50-member number was for the East Juab Association which includes Nephi, Mona and Rocky Ridge.
Ostler said he had never been given a firm number but did not think that 50 was enough.
"We don't have enough people," said Ostler. "Members run four shifts a month. A few run more shifts."
The reason for that, he said, was that the people who performed this service had job obligations and served as volunteers on the ambulance.
There were two individuals who were ready to be trained, said Ostler. The fee for the training is $750 and that commits the would-be EMT to a four-year contract. However, the two would place the roster at more than 50. Still, two other volunteers wanted to leave after serving only two years of their commitment.
There would need to be some repayment of training fees on the part of those leaving before the commitment was completed. One of those has already moved from the area.
Officers for the year on the East Ambulance Association are: President, Cody Anderson; Vice President, Chris Bowles; Scheduling Officer, Lori Deschamps; Secretary, Amanda Frentheway; Supply Officer, Linda Greenhalgh; Maintenance Officer, John Ford; Past President, Brett Ostler; and Training Officer, Jeana Higginson.
Currently Nephi has 32 members, West Desert has 6 members, Mona has four members and Rocky Ridge has 7 members, said Ostler.
He said that Bill Mills, mayor of Mona, had committed to paying the $750 training fee for Mona EMTs because he wanted to have more EMTs from that community.
Mona and Rocky Ridge EMTs do, in addition to covering their own areas, help as they can in Nephi.
Commissioners agreed that the two volunteers who had signed up for training should be allowed to attend and the fee should be paid.
The 2011 schedule, where members had signed up for days they could work, showed some problems.
Most Saturdays were understaffed or had no one interested in responding on that day. Fridays were the same. Many nights also had only one or two members who had signed up.
Ostler presented the commission with copies of the schedule so they could view the problem.
"These are the spots they signed up to cover," said Ostler. "They sign up for the times they are willing to work."
One problem is that the members from West Desert do not help with the schedule, except on rare occasions. The distance is too great and the travel time too long (about two hours) for those members to be willing to be on stand-by in Nephi.
"If you do not have enough trained members," said Chad Winn, commissioner, "we will need to reconsider that number.
In past years, there were 25 EMTs (Emergency Medical Technicians) who did the work on the east side of the county. However, said Ostler, times had changed and the interest in voluntarism which demanded such a high level of commitment had changed.
Now many organizations were finding that people wanted benefits and salaries.
Rick Carlton, commissioner, asked if increasing the number of EMTs would solve the problem and if that would mean that the shifts left uncovered would then be covered.
"Is there a need to change the policy?" he asked. "Should everyone be required to take a weekend every six weeks?"
One of the problems, said Ostler, was that the schedule was considered a legal document. If the member signed up for a shift, they were legally responsible to serve that shift or to find a substitute with equal training who would take their place.
It used to be that people were willing to sign up for a Saturday a month, said Ostler. However, they now hated to be tied-down by a legal commitment to be on-call when they had said they would be because finding a substitute was too difficult.
"If we do not have enough EMTs to respond to an emergency, then Levan, Eureka or Payson will be called-out," said Ostler.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that need in the U.S. for EMTs will increase 19 percent between 2006 and 2016.
Utah certifies all four categories: basic emergency medical technician (EMT-B); intermediate emergency medical technician (EMT-I); intermediate advanced emergency technician (EMT-IA) and paramedic. Paramedics are considered the last step in the EMT structure.
EMTs require various training hours to achieve certification. EMT-B training consists of 120 classroom hours and 10 hours of training. An EMT-I trains for 54 hours, while and EMT-IA trains 400 to 600 hours. Certification as a paramedic requires 610 classroom hours and nearly 600 on the job training hours.
EMTs progress from one level to the next upon completion of specified instruction and training. To become certified in Utah, the candidate must apply for a Bureau of Emergency Medical Services approved class. The bureau is operated through the Utah Department of Health.
Certification depends on the applicant passing a criminal background check, obtaining a tuberculosis test and completing and passing the required tests.
The Utah Department of Health sets fees for EMT certification based on the EMT level. The fee includes processing, a written test, medical and trauma scenarios, fingerprinting and a criminal background check. The National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians requires additional fees for paramedic applicants.
The ambulance association has written policy which is voted upon by the members.
"We need to discuss the financial commitment of the two who are leaving in an executive session," said Winn.
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