FERGUS FALLS, Minn. -- A request from Ringdahl Ambulance in Fergus Falls to change how it responds to 911 calls is garnering widespread opposition in Otter Tail County.
Ringdahl has asked the Minnesota EMS Regulatory Board to approve its application for part-time Advanced Life Support (ALS) service in Fergus Falls.
A paramedic currently is required on every call in Fergus Falls.
Ringdahl Ambulance has been responding to emergency medical calls in Fergus Falls since the 1960s. Ringdahl is facing what so many ambulance squads and Minnesota cities are dealing with -- a shortage of paramedics and emergency medical technicians.
"EMS has been in crisis for 20 years," said Ken Krupich, general manager for Ringdahl Ambulance.
In Fergus Falls, Ringdahl often has to fly in paramedics from out of state and board them for a few days while they work a shift.
"It is not a great place to be, but people are listening. It is getting the attention it needed a long time ago. The industry broke post-Covid and during Covid, and we haven't recovered yet," Krupich said.
Ringdahl is asking the state of Minnesota to approve a change in how the ambulance company does business in Fergus Falls. The company is requesting to move from full-time ALS, with a paramedic on board for all calls, to part-time ALS, which has EMTs on all calls, but not always a paramedic.
"For me, the concern is, we should not be downgrading the level of care that is offered to our community and currently, when someone dials 911 for a medical emergency, there is a guarantee that they will have paramedic-level care responding," state Sen. Jordan Rasmusson, R-Fergus Falls, said.
Rasmusson served on the Legislature's EMS Task Force. He along with officials from the city of Fergus Falls and Otter Tail County are hoping Ringdahl rethinks its plan.
"In Greater Minnesota, we need to make sure that when people call 911, they have the services they expect," Fergus Falls Mayor Ben Schierer said.
Rasmusson, the city of Fergus Falls and Otter Tail County sent letters to the state, opposing the proposed change. The state regulatory board has received a total of 32 letters from people objecting to Ringdahl's proposed change in service.
"Our summer population grows, even doubling during the summer, and that heightens the need for a public hearing so residents can be heard," said Kurt Mortenson, Otter Tail County Commissioner and board chair.
Ringdahl has ambulance squads in Pelican Rapids, Minn., as well as in Jamestown, Lisbon and Casselton in North Dakota. This proposed change does not impact those towns. But because so many people have written in opposing the change in Fergus Falls, a public hearing may be held on the issue.