To address the EMS shortage, Butler Co. EMS offers an EMT course

Greene, Iowa – An EMS volunteer responds when a person in Butler County dials 911 for a medical emergency.

To attract and educate the next generation of emergency responders, the county is providing internal training opportunities because there aren’t enough people eager to perform this role.
In Butler County, twelve students are undergoing training to become Emergency Medical Technicians or EMTs.

With this qualification, a classmate who has been driving an ambulance for Aplington EMS for over ten years will be able to give patient care.

Frequently, we’ll have one or two drivers arrive but no EMTs, and vice versa. I’m taking this program in an attempt to fill those voids,” Will McCord stated.

Students must complete more than 100 hours of lectures, skills training, and clinicals in order to receive their certification. In addition to passing all the necessary tests, that is.

As the county’s EMS Coordinator, Kari Coates is in charge of each class. She is teaching the course for the second time.

Coates remarked, “I hope my enthusiasm for this job kind of spills onto them.”

In November, Butler County voters approved a tax levy that increased financing for emergency response and recognized EMS as a “essential service.”

A portion of the money will be used to purchase equipment and offer free on-the-job training to volunteers.

Really, that was a huge relief. It demonstrated the county’s residents’ concern for EMS. It will enable us to maintain and expand,” Coates stated.

Although it provides some income, the tax levy is the lowest of its kind and is insufficient to compensate volunteer emergency medical services.

However, one way to start addressing the shortfall is to provide aspiring first responders with the opportunity to train nearby.

“There is nothing more fulfilling than contributing to your community. Participating in volunteer work, however, is a lot of joy, McCord added.