It is a promise that most residents are used to and rely on: Dial 911, and an ambulance staffed with paramedics and EMTs will be there in a flash to help with an emergency. In Doniphan County, however, a service that many take for granted almost stopped. After years of staffing difficulties, the two entities providing emergency medical services in the county — the city of Troy and a rural fire district based in Highland — found themselves on the brink of closure earlier this year. “We were to the point where we felt that if we didn’t do something, we wouldn’t have an ambulance service for our county,” Doniphan County Commissioner Wayne Grable said. The tale is one familiar to many communities across the state, particularly in rural areas — though the challenges are increasingly spreading to larger communities as well.
Source: CJonline
