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For your location planning. For me, I'll want to be within 90 minutes of a population center of 250,000+.
At least 4.5 million people nationwide live in an ambulance desert, where they are farther than a 25-minute drive from an ambulance station, according to a 2023 study. In Nebraska, more than 80% of emergency medical providers are volunteers working in sparsely populated areas where there are too few calls to justify having full-time staff, according to a 2019 study.
"I think that the majority of the American people do not understand how different it is out there," said Andy Gienapp, deputy executive director of the National Association of State EMS Officials.
Rural ambulance services have been strained by a largely unprofitable business model, the pressure of the pandemic and recent struggles to hire people willing to undertake extensive training and work a high-pressure job for free, emergency medical personnel say.
Most state and local governments aren't required to fund ambulance services the way they do law-enforcement offices.
At least 4.5 million people nationwide live in an ambulance desert, where they are farther than a 25-minute drive from an ambulance station, according to a 2023 study. In Nebraska, more than 80% of emergency medical providers are volunteers working in sparsely populated areas where there are too few calls to justify having full-time staff, according to a 2019 study.
"I think that the majority of the American people do not understand how different it is out there," said Andy Gienapp, deputy executive director of the National Association of State EMS Officials.
Rural ambulance services have been strained by a largely unprofitable business model, the pressure of the pandemic and recent struggles to hire people willing to undertake extensive training and work a high-pressure job for free, emergency medical personnel say.
Most state and local governments aren't required to fund ambulance services the way they do law-enforcement offices.
Your Ambulance Is on the Way. ETA: 65 Minutes.
Rural patients can wait an hour or more for emergency responders because of strained services.
www.wsj.com