In July 2024, Paul Johnson, of Gowrie, had a widowmaker heart attack . His heart flatlined twice in the back of a Southwest Webster Emergency Medical Service ambulance while enroute to the nearest hospital.

“If it weren’t for the Southwest Webster ambulance service, I wouldn’t be here today,” said Johnson. “I know that for certain.”

Becky Comp used the ambulance service three times to transport her husband to the hospital from work and twice from her home in Dayton.

“Because of the ambulance service, they were able to save my husband’s life,” said Comp. “He got to enjoy his grandchildren for another few years which I’m very grateful for.”

But in most counties in Iowa, emergency medical services (EMS) are not considered essential and therefore do not receive funding like their fire department and law enforcement counterparts. Instead, EMS departments have historically relied on donations, fundraisers, and sometimes even utilizing funds from their corresponding fire department, all of which are also falling off.

However, while emergency calls become more plentiful, volunteer numbers are lessening, insurance companies are paying less for transports, and medical supplies are becoming excessively priced, leaving EMS leaders in Webster County to wonder how their departments can even afford to respond to emergencies.

“Knowing that EMS is not an essential service here means that we may not get an ambulance or an EMS provider to respond when someone calls 911, and that’s scary,” said Dylan Hagen, Webster County emergency management coordinator. “It should be scary to citizens knowing that EMS services across our county are not considered essential like fire and law enforcement so we can’t guarantee that when someone calls 911 there will be someone to respond. We do our best and we page until someone is available, but this should be concerning to residents.”

Hagen, along with Fort Dodge Assistant Fire Chief Matt Price, Dayton Rescue Squad Director Danny Hanson, Southwest Webster EMS Director Dan Hansen, Badger Fire Department EMS Coordinator Luke Hugghins, and other first responders in the area formed an EMS advisory council nearly one year ago to research funding plans for EMS services in the county.

On March 4, the EMS advisory council is asking Webster County residents to vote in a special election to make EMS an essential service, which in turn would provide funding to the departments for supplies, filling the ambulances’ gas tanks, EMT training, paying a stipend to EMTs, as well as providing an EMS coordinator to manage certifications, insurance paperwork, general logistics, and more.

“This vote is extremely important as it will guarantee that we will have EMS services in Webster County,” said Hagen.

The advisory council is asking citizens to approve a dedicated tax for EMS services of 75-cents per $1,000 of taxable property value. The proposed tax would provide funding for the Dayton Rescue Squad, Southwest Webster Emergency Medical Service, Fort Dodge Fire Department, and small community fire departments like those in Badger, Barnum, and Vincent.

“We’ve projected in working with the auditor’s office that this dedicated tax will raise about $1.6 million annually,” said Hugghins. “Of that, the largest chunk will go towards the transport agencies that will be providing services in those areas.”

According to Hugghins, the largest transport service is the Fort Dodge Fire Department, which is a paramedic level service. It currently provides coverage for the majority of the northern part of Webster County as well as the city.

Southwest Webster Emergency Medical Service, based out of Gowrie, provides coverage for the southwest part of the county.

The Dayton Rescue Squad, based out of Dayton, covers the southeast part of the county.

“The breakdown of that funding looks roughly like Fort Dodge receiving about $1.2 million, again, they have the largest tax base,” said Hugghins. “All of the revenue from that northern part of the county stays with that department. For Gowrie, they’re looking at about $200,000 in revenue that’s generated from their service area and goes back towards their service. For Dayton, that’s about $150,000 towards their services as well.”

The EMS advisory council has also created funding avenues for smaller first response communities in Webster County with basic life support services, including communities like Badger, Vincent, and Barnum.

“We have EMTs in Badger, Barnum, and in Vincent,” said Hugghins. “There’s multiple others in the county as well. These services would receive up to $10,000 per year to put towards their training, equipment, and staffing. That’s another big piece of funding, those boots on the ground are going to be there immediately as your local resources when you call 911.”

Currently Fort Dodge ambulances do cross into the southwest and southeast quadrants of the county if responders aren’t available in the Dayton and Gowrie areas, though Fort Dodge is not funded or required to do so.

“Currently, the Fort Dodge Fire EMS is not adequately staffed to provide ambulance services to the necessary standards within the city limits,” said City Manager David Fierke. “Responding to calls in Webster County, outside the city, is only adding to the strain on an already overburdened system. If the referendum does not pass, Fort Dodge Fire EMS will no longer respond to calls outside the city limits.”

With only three ambulance transport services in Webster County, call volume continues to grow with more than 5,000 calls last year, yet departments have fewer resources, including less volunteers, no funding, and the potential of Fort Dodge not being available to backup volunteer departments.

“Without this funding, I’m not sure what the future looks like for EMS,” said Hagen.

“This vote is so incredibly important,” said Hansen. “Please vote yes.”

EMS as an Essential Service:

Special election vote: March 4

Dedicated tax of 75-cents per $1,000 of taxable property value would fund EMS services