The Chippewa County Board will soon consider next steps in hiring an EMS Coordinator soon, following an EMS report that found significant weaknesses in the county’s emergency medical services system, particularly in eastern Chippewa County. The news comes as the County’s Executive Committee was due to review the EMS draft report on Tuesday, Sept. 1, after press time. If approved as final, the draft report by the Chippewa County Ad Hoc EMS Study Committee will move to the county board for consideration Sept. 8.
Voted on by the Study Committee last month, the draft report recommends creation of a full-time county EMS coordinator, potentially funded through a countywide EMS tax levy.
County Administrator Andy Albarado has recommended that county officials first accept the report and continue developing a comprehensive countywide EMS plan rather than immediately approving either the position or levy.
“At this time, acceptance of the report and direction to continue working on this should not be construed as approval of an EMS Coordinator position, an EMS levy, or any other specific funding or organizational change,” Albarado wrote, with official action in this regard requiring separate County Board approval.
Passage of the resolution itself would have no immediate fiscal impact on the county at present.
As for potential funding for the EMS Coordinator position, Albarado cited Wisconsin Statute 66.0602(3)(e)6 as allowing for a countywide EMS levy outside the normal county levy limit through majority vote of the county board. The levy would be the exact amount that a county board levies in a given fiscal year to fund a countywide emergency medical system. An alternate funding option also exists under Wisconsin Statute 66.0602(3)(o), created by 20205 Wisconsin Act 112 and allowing municipalities in a qualified joint EMS district to exceed levy limits, submit to referendum requirements and a CPI-plus-two percent cap along with five year reapproval.
Albarado cautioned that accepting the report would not amount to approval of the first approach. He wrote that he is not currently proposing creation of the EMS coordinator position or establishment of an EMS levy and does not anticipate either being included in the county’s proposed 2027 budget. The issue could potentially be addressed during 2027 or incorporated into the 2028 budget.
Instead, Albarado is asking the County Board to direct him and county staff to continue evaluating the committee’s recommendations and other approaches to developing a countywide solution.
The news comes following creation of a 13-member Ad Hoc study committee by the County Board in December 2025, including representatives from county government, municipalities, towns and EMS providers. Beginning in January 2025, the committee met to review state and national studies, surveyed providers and EMS directors, analyzed ambulance staffing and call data and worked with an EMS consultant from the Wisconsin Office of Rural Health.
The resulting report describes the county’s EMS network as a “fractured system” increasingly dependent on a relatively small number of responders.
Among the most significant findings were differences in the ability of ambulance services to maintain the staffing needed for 24-hour coverage. Boyd-Edson-Delmar serves Boyd, Stanley, and several surrounding townships. Service for Boyd-Edson-Delmar was said to be in a “fragile balance with regard to hours for a 24/7 ambulance service, coming with 17,859 verified on-call hours for 2026, or 101.9 percent of the hours needed to staff such a service.
Bloomer Ambulance fared better, with a recorded 22,344 hours in 2025, or 128 percent of the minimum. Cadott and Cornell Area Rescue meanwhile both fared worse, with Cadott recording 12,238 verified on-call hours or 30.1 percent deficit while Cornell recorded 15,565 verified on-call hours, or 11.2 percent fewer than required for 24/7 ambulance. The report noted that other members responded to calls from home, but found this unsustainable as a long-term model as it requires someone to be available when calls come in.
Also included among report concerns was over reliance on a few individuals in each department, a situation allowing for burnout, while first responders reported feeling guilty in a survey if their agency was unable to meet EMS needs.
Deficits on-call verified hours had affects outside the district, as ambulances were pulled outside their normal service areas, temporarily leaving their own district without immediate coverage.
Faced with the above situation, the EMS Study committee recommended establishing a full-time county EMS coordinator to work with existing local agencies rather than immediately replacing them with a county-run ambulance system. The coordinator would help improve scheduling and administration, develop EMS leadership, encourage cooperation among agencies and municipalities and address responder burnout and workforce concerns.
Longer term, the coordinator would examine options ranging from strengthening existing volunteer and hybrid services to regionalizing ambulance districts or expanding professional full-time coverage into areas experiencing persistent staffing shortages.