In the last three years, 22 emergency medical service agencies in West Virginia have closed, according to the West Virginia EMS Coalition.
In a primarily rural state like West Virginia, that can make it harder to access health care, according to Coalition President and Director of Lincoln County EMS Trish Watson.
“There’s no hospital in my county,” Watson said. “Much of West Virginia is very rural, so EMS may be the only health care that they’re getting, or their only access to health care.”
The statewide coalition “represents ambulance agencies and all levels of EMS personnel… by providing a forum to exchange information and to address the issues created by an increasingly challenging environment,” according to its website.
Watson said EMS providers across the state suffer from staffing issues, ambulance shortages and insufficient pay.
West Virginia already faces a health workforce shortage, and many rural communities struggle to access care. Watson said these challenges facing the state’s health care system mean EMS shortages are only felt harder.
“We’re getting trucks stuck at the emergency rooms for two, four, five hours, and those trucks aren’t able to get back to cover their county, which is already short of staff,” she said.
While Watson said emergency medical groups in the state have generally lost staff in recent years, she said state and federal funds over the past few years have helped keep emergency services afloat.
“We’ve been able to balance that out a little bit with some of the help they’ve provided us,” she said.
Watson visited the State Capitol Tuesday to participate in an awareness event called “EMS Day.” She said she hopes the presence of emergency service groups reminded members of the West Virginia Legislature of the importance of EMS work, and their need for additional funding, especially to help increase pay to workers.
Watson hopes lawmakers “maintain the budget allocation that we have and increase [funding],” she said.
