Lack of staff closes an rural emergency medical service; another gets grant for recruitment ads

Many rural emergency medical services, like Bagaduce Ambulance in Castine, Me., are struggling to recruit volunteers and remain open. The rural coastal community shuttered its EMS service on New Year's Day after 35 years because of "staffing challenges faced by volunteer fire and rescue crews across Maine," Kevin Miller of the Bangor Daily News reports.

A private EMS provider already serving nearby towns responds to Castine emergencies, lengthening response time by 20 to 30 minutes, but some former Bagaduce members are trying to set up a "first-responder" program to help. Miller reports, the closure is also a blow to the community because it "represents a loss of a local institution that has been part of the literal lifeblood of Castine." (Read more)

In other parts of the country, struggling emergency service providers are trying new tactics. In Minnehaha County, S.D., Jeff Rusack of KDLT-TV reports the county Fire Chiefs Association received a $200,000 Federal Emergency Management Agency grant to broadcast volunteer firefighter recruitment commercials over the next two years. FCA president Mike Harstad said fresh recruits are needed to help with increased calls to the local fire department, and hopes the commercials will bring in recruits "by the truckload." The ads will tell potential volunteers about the benefits of helping their community. (Read more) (Wikipedia maps)