The Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Task Force held its final meeting on Friday, Feb. 16, where members previewed crucial recommendations to reshape EMS services across Minnesota. The Task Force’s findings are based on information gathered during the interim at listening sessions throughout the state. This includes a regional hearing held in Elbow Lake on Tuesday, Jan. 9, which was hosted by Task Force Members Senator Jordan Rasmusson (R-Fergus Fergus) and Representative Jeff Backer (R-Browns Valley).

  “Access to Emergency Medical Services is vital to Greater Minnesota but providing these services is often more challenging,” said Rasmusson. “That is why I am so appreciative of the EMS Task Force’s focus on this issue, and I am also grateful to the Minnesotans who engaged in the listening sessions across the state. The feedback we’ve received has allowed us to recognize what is driving a lot of the crisis today. With the problems identified, we now need to act this session on the solutions. I look forward to continuing our work on this important issue on a bipartisan basis.”

  During Friday’s meeting, Task Force members highlighted staffing shortages, declining volunteerism, and stagnant reimbursement rates as primary concerns. To combat these challenges, local legislators Rasmusson and Backer proposed several key recommendations, including:

• Directing the Emergency Medical Services Regulatory Board (EMSRB) to create, implement, and report a Statewide EMS Plan to the legislature at least every 10 years

• Requiring the EMSRB to recommend ways the legislature can improve access, delivery, and effectiveness of the state’s EMS delivery system

• Allowing non-emergency medical technicians (EMT)/emergency medical responder (EMR) drivers that meet training requirements to request a waiver for Basic Life Support (BLS) driver services to ease staffing concerns

• Focusing state funding to address recruitment and retention through a hybrid system, which uses paid and volunteer EMS personnel

• Funding “Sprint Medic Model” pilot programs, which would dispatch a paramedic to determine the level of care needed before an ambulance arrives

  “Few things are more important than making sure that every Minnesotan has access to timely Emergency Medical Services in every corner of the state,” said Backer who also has served as a volunteer EMT since 1995. “These recommendations have been developed over the course of several months following many meetings across Minnesota where we received feedback from constituents. I am proud of our work, and I am looking forward to collaborating with lawmakers to make sure we get these recommendations passed and signed into law.”   

  The EMS Task Force was created following a 2022 report from the Office of the Legislative Auditor. This report outlined concerns with the overall viability of EMS providers and the persistent funding and staffing challenges they’ve faced in recent years, particularly in greater Minnesota. The report also noted concerns related to the Emergency Medical Services Regulatory Board’s oversight capabilities and authority to set certain standards.