It is estimated that EMS personnel in the United States respond to 37 million 911 calls every year. Now imagine living in an area struggling to respond to calls due to a lack of emergency medical service workers. Scary to think about, right? That’s becoming the new reality here in Potosi.
You may think that living in such a small, rural community would make it easier to keep up with the demand placed on EMS personnel, but that’s not entirely true. The Potosi Rescue Squad currently has 14 volunteers serving the Potosi/Tennyson population of roughly 1,000. However, out of the 14 volunteers, only about 8 or 9 are consistently active in responding to calls.
I sat down with Mick Whitaker who is a Driver and Trustee with the Potosi Rescue Squad. Mick has volunteered for 12 ½ years on both the Potosi Rescue Squad and the Potosi Fire Department. Mick explained he noticed the shortage of EMS volunteers within Potosi, “Around six years ago; things started going downhill. No one was volunteering; there was lots of quitting and people moving on. But recently it’s gotten a lot worse.”
To send out a legal crew, you need three people: either one driver and two EMTs, or one driver, one EMT, and one EMR. EMTs are more advanced in skills, are able to administer additional emergency medications, and are trained in transport, stabilization, and ongoing assessment of patients. EMRs assist EMTs and paramedics by driving the ambulance and providing care to patients.
When asked how many calls the Potosi Rescue Squad gets, Mick responded, “We get approximately 125 calls per year.” But what happens when they can’t get three people to respond to a call? Mick explained the process to me: “Unfortunately, when that happens, calls have to be transferred. When a call is in the process of being transferred you have to page Grant County and tell them to page a different city or town closest to where the call originated.” Mick informed me that the Potosi Rescue Squad has had to transfer six calls within the past twelve months. I also learned that generally when a call gets transferred, either Lancaster or Dickeyville will be called, but the majority of the time it will go to Dickeyville.
I asked Mick if there was anything the community could do to be helping and he responded, ”If you are 16 years old or older and live in the Potosi area, and are interested in the medical field, I’d look into joining the Potosi Rescue Squad. We are looking for members.” Another option is taking the EMS and EMR classes that are administered by the state of Wisconsin. Once you complete and pass the class, the Potosi Rescue Squad will reimburse you for the class. However, in order to be able to take those classes, you have to be at least 16 years old.
This is a very pressing issue facing Potosi/Tennyson. The EMS service can ultimately make the difference between life and death. Hopefully, this article can inspire students and community members to join the volunteer department.