If there’s one situation that keeps Dickinson County Administrator Brad Homman up at night, it’s worrying about whether or not the county’s Emergency Medical Service (EMS) has enough staff to respond at night. “If someone calls about a pothole, we can wait on that. But I can’t live with the fact that somebody had a heart attack, and we didn’t have enough people to send out an ambulance,”
“John (Hultgren, EMS/Health Department director) has expressed frustration and concern about our open EMS positions and not getting any applicants. There are two vacancies that have been open for months. After a lengthy discussion about the problem and solution, Dickinson County Commissioners on Aug. 25 approved a salary increase for paramedics, Advanced EMTs and EMTs. The increase will bring the starting salary for a paramedic up to approximately $62,000 with overtime.
