Town ambulance seeks support

HOT SPRINGS – The ambulance service in Hot Springs has been undergoing a transition period over the past several months.

The service’s two busiest runners are no longer with the town’s ambulance and since their recent departure Hot Springs’ emergency services have had a difficulty replacing the two long-time workers.

“It has had a huge impact on the system,” Mayor of Hot Springs, Randy Woods said.

Woods also serves on the Board of Directors, a non-profit organization, responsible for overseeing the operations of the town’s ambulance service.

According to Woods, these two runners handled about 60 to 75 percent of the ambulance’s calls in the past and with their absence the town has been unable to find individuals to step up and fill the gap.

To handle the recent shortage in Emergency Medical Technicians the ambulance board initiated a program earlier in the year to train individuals from Hot Springs to become members of the town’s ambulance service.

These individuals passed the practical portion of their training but have yet to take a written exam at a certified testing facility.

In order to become fully certified for the town’s ambulance service, applicants are required to pass both the practical and written portion of the training program.

Woods noted the time involved with becoming certified for the service has been a significant obstacle in recruiting new members as a total of 120 hours of training are involved in the program.

Due to these circumstances Woods stated the ambulance board has considered several options to increase interest in the available positions, including raising the current wages and looking into hiring EMT workers from outside the community.

Hot Springs does have a mutual aide program with Plains, so in the event of an emergency the town is not completely without support.

Nonetheless, Woods noted this is not the best scenario and considering the distances between towns it would be much more conducive for Hot Springs to get their own service up and running at previous levels.

Moreover, inclement weather characteristic of the winter months in northwestern Montana, adds to the drive time between the two towns, making it more difficult for a Plains crew to respond to a potential emergency in Hot Springs.

The Hot Springs Ambulance is not alone in its recent difficulties in attracting new employees to make up the time once entered by veteran members of the rural emergency service.

Rural fire departments throughout the region have recently faced the same issue as the town’s ambulance service, struggling to find enough employees and volunteers to handle the number of calls coming in, a problem that has been made apparent with the rise in emergency calls due to wintery weather and subsequent deteriorating road conditions.

The town’s Mayor is readily aware of the significant danger in not always being able to respond to emergency calls.

“It gets to the point where I hope there is someone here when someone calls,” Woods said.