National EMS Week, observed this year from May 18-24, is an important opportunity to highlight the contributions our EMS providers make to our communities. In the 17th Senate District, nearly all of our sixty EMS departments are made up of volunteers. These volunteers undergo countless hours in the classroom and training to keep us safe. They often have to balance this volunteer commitment with their day job and family responsibilities.

When you or I are in trouble, we want to be able to call 911 and know someone will answer the phone and help us. Ensuring our local EMS departments have the tools and flexibility to respond when needed is one of my top priorities every legislative session.

Last session’s shared revenue law and 2023-25 State Budget contained major victories for our rural EMS departments. We significantly increased funding through the Funding Assistance Program (FAP) from $2 million to $25 million annually. We also created “maintenance of effort” requirements to ensure local governments continue to invest in their departments. The shared revenue package also included waiving the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) exam for Emergency Medical Responders (EMRs). This was a change I worked on for many years after hearing from local departments that this overly burdensome requirement was driving away volunteers. Now, requiring the NREMT exam for EMRs is left to the discretion of each local department.

Throughout my time in the legislature, I have also been proud to author legislation to support our rural EMS departments. Last session, Rep. Travis Tranel (R-Cuba City) and I wrote legislation requiring the statewide EMS Board to include two members from rural, volunteer EMS departments. This idea came out of my EMS listening sessions. The challenges I was hearing about in Darlington and Muscoda were not prioritized by the statewide board. Now, one of the two rural department representatives is a resident of Southwestern Wisconsin.

This session I have continued my focus on rural EMS by introducing a package of bills with Rep. Tony Kurtz (R-Wonewoc). This legislation, explained in depth here, was developed in response to feedback from local EMS providers and would be another step towards addressing the sustainability of our local EMS model. All three bills have received a public hearing and are moving through the legislative process.

All year long, but especially during EMS Week, we should take time to thank our EMS personnel. They are the ones who are there for us when we need them most. I will continue to advocate for legislation to help alleviate the challenges our local departments face and make it easier to serve. The best legislative ideas come from our EMS personnel, through conversations at a local department fundraiser or listening sessions. To our volunteers, the work you do is so important. Thank you for your commitment.