FLORENCE COUNTY EMS Assistant Coordinator Jeanette Mcguire takes delivery of a Polaris Ranger from Michael Corey, sales representative at Ride North of Kingsford. The UTV will be used for trail emergencies and the trailer will also serve as a mobile command unit. (Jim Paul/Daily News photo)

FLORENCE, Wis. — Over a year in the making, residents of Florence County now have a county-run EMS service.

As of January, all three EMS stations — Florence, Aurora and Long Lake/Tipler — are operational with a blended staff of paid on-call and in-station personnel. For the Aurora station, transport does sometimes come from Florence.

The process of establishing the county’s EMS service actually started in 2019, after a decline in volunteers had begun to jeopardize the four volunteer services throughout the area.

Former Florence County Sheriff Dan Miller formed an ad hoc committee with the county board to see what might work for EMS service.

Multiple options were explored, including contracting through Aspirus Medical Transport from Iron River or Integrity Care EMS from Iron Mountain, but developing the county’s own system appeared to be the least-costly route, Florence County Emergency Management Director Amanda Mulvey said.

“We did a sustainability study and a feasibility study through the Wisconsin Office of Rural Health and it was determined that in order to have a sustainable EMS service structure, we needed to move to a full-time countywide system,” Mulvey said.

With Florence County having 500 square miles and no solid infrastructure to get from point A to B quickly, they decided one station in Florence would not work — they needed to keep the three existing stations.

A Basic Life Support license was granted July 13 and the Advanced Life Support flexible staffing license with approval to the advanced EMT level was issued Sept. 5. The new EMS service continued to operate under the licenses of the former EMS services until all Funding Assistance Program and Flex Grant dollars awarded by the state Department of Health Services EMS division in 2023 were spent. The existing licenses from the volunteer agencies are being gradually discontinued.

Emergency Management worked closely with the previous services to ensure items purchased with grant dollars would benefit the new countywide EMS, including mechanical CPR devices for all units, rapid response vehicles for each station, updated cardiac monitors in each ambulance, training equipment and AED unit replacements.

The ambulances all come from the former services. Florence has two ambulances assigned, while the other two stations each have one.

A UTV and trailer that will also serve as a mobile command center have been added and will be used primarily by the Long Lake/Tipler station for emergencies on the trail system.

The new service will be funded by a tax levy of $1.63 per $1,000 of equalized value that began in 2022, a per-capita fee from each municipality and grant funding applied for on an annual basis. The service will also generate revenue from billing the emergency calls.

The new EMS system hopes to eventually employ 23 full-time personnel. Current staffing has eight full-time, two part-time and seven casual employees that consists of seven EMTs, one advanced EMT, two paramedics and four registered nurses. Hiring continues, with general staff earning $13 to $17.50 an hour to start.

Mulvey said that the county is fortunate to employ dedicated professionals at those rates and they appreciate their service to the communities.

The lack of stations that can accommodate staff 24 hours a day has been a barrier to finding qualified people, Mulvey added. Most people in the emergency services field prefer to work 24-hour shifts. The county is working with a firm to design floor plans that incorporate 24-hour housing and hopes to put projects out for bid soon.

Due to delays in hiring personnel in 2023, the EMS special levy funds had a carryover balance that will remain with the EMS department and will be used for building projects and budgeted expenses delayed from 2023 to 2024.

Mulvey said they had to work to convince Florence County residents a new EMS service was worth funding.

“When you implement a large levy like this, it is hard to see the value. We are such a small community and it is a big tax burden,” Mulvey said. “But it is critical for us to make sure that we have quality pre-hospital care here in rural communities. Making sure that taxpayers have that education of what our intent is and why we are doing this has been a challenge, but it has been fairly well received.”