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Did you know that, by state law, municipalities must provide fire protection and emergency medical services (EMS) to their residents?
That's right, and it doesn't matter what a municipality's capability is -- meaning its ability to fund and staff an ambulance service or fire company.
Lack of staffing appears to be more of an issue these days than money.
And remember, folks, we're talking about critical, life-saving services.
A staffing crunch -- a lack of Emergency Medical Technicians or EMTs -- is just what rural Western Clinton County is facing.
Renovo Ambulance has an EMT shortage, as reported in The Express on Jan. 13.
Officials are looking for help.
We reached out to Timothy Reeves, CEO of Bucktail Medical Center, a rural, critical care hospital serving that region, to expound a little on our story by Kevin Rauch.
There is a real shortage of EMTs not just here, but across the state and nation.
Port Matilda (in Centre County) just closed its ambulance service.
So it's not a situation unique to us.
This is going to have a major impact.
Reeves said officials are grateful that Goodwill Hose Co. is considering partnering with Station 29 to provide EMT services. Money is needed to pay for it; various sources are being tapped -- or at least attempting to be tapped.
And there may be more options needed, Reeves said.
Kudos to Station 28 -- South Renovo -- for its service.
Through COVID funding, Station 28 of South Renovo have also responded to area calls, acting like a supplemental service to Station 29 over the past couple of years.
We reported that BMC has identified 13 certified EMTs living in local communities; some of those are currently inactive as verbal commitments have come from six total EMTs to run with BMC.
Shared services is where things are moving as emergency services face manpower shortages.
Certainly, volunteer fire companies are not immune.
And we just saw two large police departments in Lycoming County merge -- a move driven by efforts to control costs more than anything.
We applaud all officials who keep our ambulance services and fire trucks running.