EMS is an Essential Service in Jasper County.

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EMS IS NOW AN ESSENTIAL SERVICE IN JASPER COUNTY

Today marks an important step forward for Emergency Medical Services in Jasper County.

Following three readings and public hearings, the Jasper County Board of Supervisors approved the resolution declaring EMS an essential service in Jasper County.

First and foremost, we want to thank the Jasper County, Iowa Board of Supervisors for being willing to take on this issue and begin the conversation about the future of EMS in our county.

We also want to be very clear about what happened today and, just as importantly, what DID NOT happen.

No new tax was approved today.

The resolution does not establish an EMS levy or increase anyone's property taxes. It creates the framework that allows Jasper County to begin the process of evaluating what a sustainable countywide EMS system could look like. Any future EMS tax proposal would ultimately have to go before Jasper County voters and receive at least 60% approval before it could be implemented.

Today's vote was step one. Now the work begins.

Over the coming weeks, the Board of Supervisors will consider the makeup of an EMS Advisory Team. That group will have the responsibility of taking a hard look at EMS throughout Jasper County, including staffing, volunteer shortages, ALS availability, response coverage, training, equipment, costs, existing local services, and what it will realistically take to sustain EMS into the future.

Our goal is not to replace the EMS services we already have. In fact, the resolution specifically states the opposite. The goal is to strengthen our countywide EMS system while preserving the independent local services that our communities have built and supported.

This isn't something that will be figured out in one meeting, and it shouldn't be.

There will be difficult questions. There will be different opinions. There will be numbers that have to be justified. Most importantly, there needs to be an open conversation with the people who would ultimately be asked to support it: you, the residents of Jasper County.

We also recognize that discussions involving property taxes deserve transparency. You should know what is being proposed, why it is being proposed, where the money would go, and what Jasper County would receive in return before you are ever asked to vote on it.

So please, ask questions.

If you hear something that doesn't make sense, ask us.

If you're concerned about what this could cost you, ask us.

If you want to know how the money could be used, ask us.

If you think there is something we're overlooking, tell us.

Email us at em@jasperema-hls.org

We will also be creating a dedicated page on the Jasper County EMA website where we will post information about the process and begin answering questions as they come in. If one person is asking a question, chances are someone else is wondering the same thing.

EMS is something most people don't think much about until the day they need it. When that day comes, whether it is your child who can't breathe, your spouse having chest pain, your parent who has fallen, or someone seriously injured in a crash, you expect someone to answer the call.

The men and women providing that care across Jasper County have been finding ways to make that happen for a long time, often with limited staffing, increasing costs, and fewer volunteers.

Today doesn't solve those problems.

But it gives us an opportunity to work together and find a way forward.

Thank you again to the Jasper County Board of Supervisors, our EMS agencies, our responders, our cities and townships, and everyone who has participated in this process so far.

We have a lot of work ahead of us, and we are ready to get started.

#jaspeready #EMS #onemissiononeteam #differencemaker