Seven area local governments are joining forces to create a brand-new combined emergency medical services (EMS) district, providing around the clock 911 care to Belleville, New Glarus and their surrounding areas. The new Sugar River EMS District includes the entire Villages of Belleville and New Glarus, the Towns of Montrose, Exeter, and New Glarus along with portions of the Towns of Oregon and Brooklyn.
Community and business leaders unveiled the launch of the “Sugar River Emergency Medical Services (EMS) District” at a news conference in Belleville on Monday, March 23.
It officially launches June 30 and is projected to receive around 1,100 emergency calls each year and start with a total operating budget of around $1.3 million. By this summer, the new department will utilize four ambulances and two rapid response vehicles to expedite emergency medical care across southern Dane and northern Green Counties.
“It is getting harder and harder for communities in rural Wisconsin to find people to respond when their neighbors need an ambulance,” Belleville EMS Chief Chris Backes said in a district news release. “As this region continues to grow, we want to make sure families don’t have to sit around and wait 20 or even 30 minutes for emergent care.”
The new Sugar River EMS District will be served by fully staffed ambulances responding from two stations in both Belleville and New Glarus. EMS responders will be supported in each community by both the Belleville and New Glarus Fire Departments. Both agencies have medically trained personnel ready to support the work of Sugar River EMS providers.
“There are significant barriers to providing emergency care in rural communities, many of which are related to scarcity of resources,” University of Wisconsin Hospital and EMS Medical Director Dr. Michael Spigner said. “Collaboration between municipalities is one way to maximize the value and efficiency of limited resources.”
Staff from Belleville Area Emergency Medical Services along with the Belleville and New Glarus Fire Departments help comprise the more than 80 emergency medical providers serving the new department.
“Lots of rural communities are struggling with EMS staffing and that’s resulting in delays of ambulance responses and patients not getting the best care,” Belleville EMS Deputy Chief Josh Wescott said. “We’ve built innovative EMS workforce development and training partnerships within the University of Wisconsin pre-medical programs and Madison College to make sure our neighbors get help when they need it.”