Increasing EMS recruitment and training in southwest montana - ST

Peter's health ambulance is a rural non-profit EMS agency owned and operated by ST. Peter's health (SPH), a rural community hospital located in helena montana. Our goal is to increase recruitment into EMS and expand training opportunities for EMS personnel in our rural region to address critical EMS staffing shortage, with particular focus on addressing mental and substance use disorders. With the only full-service acute care facility in the region, SPH is located in a town of 35,256 and serves the five rural counties of lewis and clark, broadwater, jefferson, meagher, and powell, which combined encompass 11,026 square miles. EMS services for lewis and clark county are provided primarily by SPH in conjunction with volunteer fire, first response agencies, and volunteer ambulance services. A 2021 comprehensive assessment survey report funded by the montana department of health and human services (MT dphhs) in collaboration with the montana hospital association, titled the emergency medical services in montana: crisis on the horizon report, identifies significant staff shortages resulting in some EMS agencies unable to respond to 9-1-1 calls, and a lack of education opportunities for EMS personnel. In addition, our community has seen an alarming spike in heroin/fentanyl-related overdoses. We will implement all the required activities of this grant as we increase recruitment outreach efforts and training opportunities to a five-county region. We propose to train a minimum of 75 unduplicated individuals with grant funds during the 12-month period. Our five objectives include conducting multiple training courses using a mix of distance learning and in-person skills labs offered to our five-county first response agency network throughout the one-year period. The training instructors are SPH ambulance staff who are well experienced EMT and paramedics with many years of experience facilitating and leading the proposed trainings. We will train EMS personnel as appropriate to maintain licenses and certifications relevant to serve in an EMS agency, qualify graduates to serve in an EMS agency, meet federal and montana state licensing and/or certification requirements; and we will ensure EMS personnel are trained on mental and substance use disorders and care for people with such disorders in emergency situations. We will promote the trainings through our regional service area, which includes the surrounding regional first response agencies in our immediate area and to first response agencies in eight surrounding rural communities. The outlying communities include the rural communities of white sulphur springs, townsend, clancy, jefferson, elliston, avon, lincoln, and helmville.