Adam Parker, chair of the advocacy committee for the North Dakota EMS Association, delivers remarks on a distressed ambulance services bill during a meeting of the Senate Human Services Committee . (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)
(Michael Achterling – North Dakota Monitor) – A bill addressing distressed ambulance services aims to give North Dakota communities a safety net before EMS companies abruptly close.
Senate Bill 2033 would require ambulance services that are failing to meet state or federal regulations or are at risk of closing within 60 days to comply with a new program administered through the Department of Health and Human Services.
A survey sent to North Dakota ambulance service providers showed about 30 may close in the next five years, Adam Parker, chair of the advocacy committee for the North Dakota EMS Association, told the Senate Human Services Committee.
“When an ambulance fails, that jeopardizes the community, as well as stresses the neighbors,” Parker said.
The program would lay out procedures for HHS to create an improvement plan with the struggling ambulance services and inform local medical directors and local subdivisions of the issues. It also creates a coordinator position under HHS to manage the program, expected to cost about $210,000 during the 2025-27 biennium and $218,000 in the 2027-29 budget.
The program would require both HHS and the ambulance provider to sign off on an improvement plan that would be presented to local residents before going into effect.
Rep. Robin Weisz, R-Hurdsfield, testified in favor of the bill.
“It’s a tool to make sure we don’t all of a sudden reach a crisis situation,” Weisz said.
He added he would advocate for additional funding for rural ambulance services, though the bill does not include that funding.
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