EB EMS considers ESD
By BARRY HALVORSON bhalvorson@journal-spectator.com

East Bernard EMS was scheduled to host a town hall meeting last night to discuss creating an Emergency Services District to fund future coverage and expansion.

The East Bernard EMS was originally organized in 1980 as a volunteer first responder organization and the upgraded to a full-fledged ambulance service that purchased their first ambulance in 1981.

"We've always been a volunteer service," EMS director Douglas Hancock said. "But today the community's need for service is more and more and we just don't have the volunteers to provide regular coverage."

Hancock explained that while frequently there is one volunteer available, state law requires that two medically-trained people need to man an ambulance to provide transport.

"We've currently got 12 volunteers but only four or five can be real active," Hancock said. "And most of the volunteers are active members of other EMS departments. We have to do something to cut down our dependency on other departments, like Wharton EMS."

At the meeting, the EMS department was expected to outline the advantages of creating a ESD serving the East Bernard service area.

It would be similar to Wharton County ESD No. 1, which collects tax revenues to fund the county's various volunteer fire departments.