Ambulance seeks volunteers, EMR class scheduled

When a Lincoln resident calls 911 for a medical emergency, the providers who respond in the ambulance have dropped what they are doing, left their families dinner table or their job to help their neighbor in need. These men and women are volunteers, they don't have to do it. They do it because it's something they love to do.

Since the 1960's the number of these volunteers has gone up or down for a variety of reasons, including people's changing schedules and moves. EMS providers can also get burnt out and need a break.

Currently, there are twenty licensed providers with the Lincoln Volunteer Ambulance. Eight Emergency Medical Technicians and four Emergency Medical Responders are actively running calls.

"Staffing numbers are currently up from the past but there are a lot of new EMT's that are learning how to serve on a volunteer basis. Others are finding out that it is a difficult job and isn't for everyone," Lincoln Ambulance President Aaron Birkholz said.

Starting Jan. 16 and running three nights a week until mid-February, the Lincoln Volunteer Ambulance is holding an EMR class in hopes of attracting more volunteers.

"EMR's are the starting level of care in the EMS world. It is a first responder license, and the main duties are to assist the EMT's during a call. That could include doing CPR or breathing for a patient, or bandaging a patient while the EMT is doing advanced life saving measures. There is a large list of skills that an EMR does." Birkholz said. "We are a great team; always looking for people willing to learn and be a part of the team.

He said they're looking for volunteers with a great attitude who can handle the most stressful kinds of situations while saving someone's life.

"I always understand that they are volunteers and cannot make every call but, if you are going to volunteer, you need to be all in," Birkholz said. "EMS volunteers have state and federal mandates for training and to keep your license, you have to have a certain number of hours logged for training each year. We try to encourage our EMS to make at least a third of the yearly responses."

He said for EMS providers, if you don't use it, you lose it and just training isn't enough. "You have to actually treat real patients to get good at this job," he said.

LVA recorded 132 calls in 2018, in addition to staffing community events such as Skijoring and the Lincoln Rodeo. For every call, a minimum of two providers - at least one EMT and an EMR – are required. Most calls run with two or three people.

A lack of volunteers is always a concern for the LVA and the community of Lincoln.

"Every call that we get paged to is always a worry in the community," said Birkholz. "I never know if we are going to get a crew together, because everyone has jobs, family, and a life to attend to. I never expect anyone to have to do all of the calls. We are all volunteers and sometimes it's not possible to stop your daily life and go on a four-hour response." If LVA can't respond, an ambulance has to come from Helena, and the time a patient has to wait for help is extended.

"When you only have two EMT's that respond, one of them will function as an EMR, which in a pinch works," said EMT Bill Frisbee. "If you have a very serious call and you need more than two hands in the back of an ambulance, there's only so much you can do. As far as EMT's, we are very fortunate that we have quite a few, but for the EMR's we are down to maybe three or four that are responding."

The Lincoln Volunteer Fire Department developed a Quick Response Unit over the last few years. The red Ford Expedition you see heading to calls allows an EMT to respond on their own and begin life saving measures as a crew is gathered to staff the ambulance.

"We are finding out that it is not always possible to get the QRU to respond because once again, it is a volunteer service and we all have jobs and a life beyond volunteering," Birkholz said. "However, the QRU makes 98 percent of the medicals in the valley, and some calls, it is life or death. Starting this QRU has saved lives in our community, (people who) would have died if the QRU did not get there when it did."

Frisbee said he believes some people don't volunteer because they are afraid that they will be put in a situation they aren't comfortable in. "We don't let that happen. We do the training to get people as comfortable as possible, we have senior people that will mentor the rookie to get them where they will feel comfortable responding."

If you are interested in signing up for the EMR class, the deadline to register is this Saturday, Jan. 12. There's no cost for the class if you intend to join Lincoln Ambulance. Contact Aaron Birkholz at [email protected] or by calling 406-431-7108 for information.