HomeMy WebLinkAboutAd Hoc EMS Advisory Committee - Minutes - 12/28/2021
1
Bayfield County Clerk
Lynn M. Divine, County Clerk
Kim Mattson, Accountant Jeran Delaine, Deputy Clerk
Gail M. Reha, Bookkeeper Paige Terry, Clerk III
Ph: 715.373.6100 ● Fx: 715.373.6153 ● Email: Lynn.Divine@bayfieldcounty.wi.gov ● 117 E. Fifth Street, PO Box 878, Washburn, WI 54891
Minutes of the:
Bayfield County Ad Hoc EMS Advisory Committee
December 28, 2021 6:00 p.m.
Meeting Held in the County Board Room, Courthouse Building, Washburn, WI
& Remotely
The meeting of the Bayfield County Ad Hoc EMS Advisory Committee was called to order at 6:00 p.m. by
Committee Chair, Steve Sandstrom.
Other members present: County Administrator-Mark Abeles-Allison, County Clerk-Lynn Divine virtually,
Emergency Management Director-Meagan Quaderer virtually, UW Extension Community Development
Educator-Kellie Pederson virtually, and Clerk III-Paige Terry virtually
3. Committee Chair Opening:
a) Introductions by name and municipality or agency: Introductions of the members
were as follows:
1) Meagan Quaderer – Bayfield County Emergency Management Director
2) Joe Schick – Mason Area Ambulance Service Director
3) Dan Vaillancourt – Supervisor Town of Lincoln
4) Jeff Bellile – Washburn Ambulance Service Director
5) Brett Friermood – Barnes Area Ambulance Director
6) Adam Olson – Representative for Iron River Ambulance
7) Scott Kluver – Administrator City of Washburn
8) Kellie Pederson – UW Madison Community Development Educator
9) Steve Sandstrom- Committee Chair and County Board Supervisor for
District 1
10) Colleen Beagan – Representative for City of Bayfield
11) Eric Neff - Supervisor Town of Barnes
12) David Trudeau – Citizen Representative for Town of Bell
13) David Larson – Representative for Village of Mason
14) Jan Victorson – Representative for Mason and Iron River Ambulance
Services and Secretary for Bayfield County EMS Council
15) Sandy Raspotnik – Representative for Town of Washburn
16) Tam Hofman – Representative for South Shore Area Ambulance
17) Lynn Divine – Bayfield County Clerk
18) Larry Supervisor – County Board Supervisor for District 3
b) Committee membership selection process review: Bayfield County Administrator,
Mark Abeles-Allison, reviewed the process for appointing members to the committee stating the county made most appointments based on letters of interest and inquiries and
that EMS representative appointments were deferred to the Bayfield County EMS
Council.
4. Discussion and Possible Action, Minutes from the November 29, 2021 Ad Hoc EMS
Advisory Committee Meeting: Motion by Kluver, seconded by Vaillancourt to approve the
Minutes of the Monthly Bayfield County Ad Hoc EMS Advisory Committee Meeting held on
November 29, 2021. Motion carried.
2
5. Listening Session (EMS Directors):
Bev Steele with the Town of Clover introduced herself to the committee.
Jeff Bellile, service director for the Washburn ambulance service, reported that the Washburn
Ambulance Service is on track for an estimated total of 550 ambulance runs for 2021 and
currently has 22 currently employed EMTs with 10 EMTs being the most active with a combined
total of 223 years of service between them. The service conducts approximately 20-25 mutual
aid assists per year.
Joe Schick, Mason area ambulance service director, informed the committee that the service has
taken 212 ambulance calls so far in 2021 and the service has 13 licensed EMTs currently
employed with three of them being new this year. Schick reported that the service does
participate in mutual aid runs throughout the year. Four or five of the EMTs regularly respond to
calls.
Brett Friermood, director of the Barnes area ambulance service, reported that 13 people are listed
on the roster as EMTs, but two individuals currently do not hold a license. Out of the total
licensed individuals, nine of them are active responders. The service responds to approximately
100 calls per year. Friermood reported that the service does complete mutual aid assists when
needed.
Adam Olson, financial officer of the Iron River ambulance department, informed the committee
that there are 21 licensed individuals on the roster with the crew being considered young as each
member is under the age of 50. Only between six and eight of the licensed staff are active
responders. Approximately 275-300 calls are responded to each year with 70% of calls being
medical transports to the hospital. The Iron River Ambulance service area is an estimated 231
square miles.
Bev Steele read a report on behalf of the South Shore Ambulance Service that stated the service
currently has 14 members on its roster after having lost one responder. South Shore ambulance
service estimated two calls were received that needed mutual aid from another service and the
total number of calls received by the service continue to increase with an estimated 78 calls so
far in 2021. South Shore ambulance has a volunteer fund that can hold a maximum of $25,000
with the service being responsible for raising the funds. An average of four responders answered
the service’s calls throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rob Puls, paramedic coordinator for the Great Divide ambulance service, gave a brief history of
the challenges the service has faced in the past. Great Divide ambulance service responds to
approximately 1,500 calls per year and has three separate crews on-call 24/7. The crews consist
of 15 paid individuals. Operational costs for the agency continue to increase. Puls informed the
committee that the service handles a lot of inter-facility transfers throughout every hour of the
day.
Common problems presented by the EMS Directors and the committee were a lack of volunteers,
aging volunteers, employers of volunteers not allowing the volunteers to leave work to respond
to calls, agency funding, requirements for certification and licensing, a lack of public
knowledge/understanding of services provided by the agencies, and the public “abusing” the
emergency services system.
6. Discussion and Possible Action on Legislative Recommendations: Chairman Sandstrom tabled
the item until the next meeting due to time constraints of the meeting.
7. Discussion and Possible Action regarding January Agenda Topics:
3
• Begin process to brainstorm possible solutions
• State Legislation Recommendations and State EMS Agency Regulations
o DHS 110 Regulations
• Red Cliff and Bayfield EMS Director Presentations
• Listening Session, Municipal Officers
• Coverage and Geography
o Cross-County Coordination Between Agencies
• Breakdown of call types for each agency
8. Public Comment: None
9. Discussion Regarding Future Meeting Dates:
a) January 24, 2022 at 6:00 p.m.
b) February 28, 2022 at 6:00 p.m.
c) March 28, 2022 at 6:00 p.m.
d) April 25, 2022 at 6:00 p.m.
e) May 23, 2022 at 6:00 p.m.
Motion by Vaillancourt, seconded by Friermood to authorize EMS Directors and designees to
participate in future Bayfield County Ad Hoc EMS Advisory Committee meetings to offer input that may
further discussions including outside of the public comment portion of the meeting. Motion carried.
10. Adjourn: There being no further business to discuss, a motion was made by Neff to adjourn the
meeting. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 9:01 p.m.
Sincerely,
LYNN M. DIVINE
Bayfield County Clerk
LMD/pat