Idaho does not consider ambulance or paramedic services as an essential government function, but one group is aiming to change that through legislation.
A 2021 Office of Performance Evaluations oversight report found Idaho’s Emergency Medical Service agencies rely heavily on volunteers, are understaffed, and that this can affect how fast ambulances respond to calls.
An EMS sustainability task force, made up of paramedics, firefighters, county commissioners and more, has been meeting for the past year to come up with a solution, and plans on introducing legislation next session.
The first step would be to label EMS “essential” in Idaho law, Wayne Denny, EMS bureau chief under the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, told the state’s EMS advisory commission last week. After that, it’s more complicated.
“So it’s essential — what does that mean?”…
