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My patient threw up during cardiac arrest a few years ago, so I grabbed a mechanical suction device to clear his airway.
It broke. I picked up another, but it failed, too. I grabbed a manual suction tool, and it fell apart in my hand. I ended up rolling the patient on his side, using gravity, along with my hand, to clear his throat and keep him breathing.
With some parts of Fremont County more than an hour away from the nearest hospital, it’s essential that residents have ready access to well-supplied ambulances and seasoned crews.
There’s not one second to waste on busted equipment. That’s why my co-workers and I at Frontier Ambulance support a referendum on the Aug. 18 ballot asking voters in Fremont County to approve a three-quarter-percent sales tax to fund emergency medical services (EMS).
We’re encouraging you to vote “yes” as well. This tax—to be paid largely by the tourists who visit Fremont County—just might save your life.
The frontline medical system here is strained to the breaking point, even as demand for our services at Frontier Ambulance continues to grow.
We need new suction devices and new cardiac monitors to deliver the best possible care. We also need an advanced communications system such as Starlink to make sure we maintain contact with dispatchers even in the most remote parts of our far-flung service area.
It’s just as essential to develop a plan for replacing the ambulances that annually log tens of thousands of miles, many of them on rutted, dirt roads.
In addition, we have to take urgent action to stem the churn of paramedics and emergency medical technicians (EMTs), who often leave after a handful of years to pursue more lucrative work elsewhere. The revolving door leads to dangerous understaffing and an experience drain, both of which risk patient care.
These aren’t hypothetical scenarios. They’re issues we face every day.
One of our residents recently suffered a heart attack a minute’s drive away from one of our three stations. But because of understaffing and the other 911 calls already in progress at the time, we had no crew close by to help.
The three-quarter-percent tax, the kind of initiative already adopted in other communities around the country, would position us to grow our fleet, add additional crews and answer calls more quickly.
If voters approve the referendum, most of the new tax revenue would go directly to EMS and patient care.
Smaller amounts would go to commercial air service and public transportation, both of which indirectly support the EMS system.
Here’s how: We need high-quality airport infrastructure to accommodate medical helicopters. The public transportation system provides bus service and on-demand rides, accommodating residents who might otherwise take an ambulance out of service to get to dialysis or other non-emergency care.
My colleagues and I will continue to give all we have in service to our neighbors. But we’re stretched thin.
A three-quarter-percent sales tax, especially one to be borne largely by visitors, is a small price to pay for a community’s health and safety.
Signed,
Dominick Sapien
Dominick Sapien is a paramedic and the president of United Steelworkers (USW) Local 9012, which represents about three dozen paramedics and EMTs at Frontier Ambulance.