Rural areas of Wisconsin typically rely on volunteers to staff their EMS and fire departments. While the courage of those individuals is necessary, it can translate to longer wait times for patients in critical condition.
The towns of Manitowish Waters, Boulder Junction, Presque Isle and Winchester in Vilas County used to rely on volunteers, and have collaborated in a first-of-its-kind way to solve that problem.
"You're hoping on people that are working full time jobs and they have families, and are they available?" said Jason Joling, Chief of the Northwoods EMS District.
Now, since 2025, they've had a fully funded and functioning EMS staff.
"14 full-time benefited employees, and we have a handful of part-time staff," said Joling.
These four rural towns in Vilas County decided to combine their resources to benefit the health and safety of their neighbors, and did it with the help of some outside experts.
"The general public doesn't understand that there's a problem until they call 911 and it takes an hour for an ambulance to get there," said James Small, Rural EMS Outreach Program Manager at Wisconsin Office of Rural Health.
Small helped the district with budget designs, staff plannings, and data collection to formulate the collaboration that has significantly improved call times throughout the area.
"The big thing with the district is now instead of people having to drive to the station, we have people here. Our goal is that, over 90% of the time, our crew is out the door responding to the call in 90 seconds after receiving the call," said Joling.
The district has dropped their wait time from around 40 minutes to an average of just 13 minutes. Their partnership now inspires other rural communities of what is possible.
"Given a resource to other town chairmen, town board members, to be able to call there and talk to them about that. Maybe alleviate some of their concerns, help them build that courage to make that hard decision for their community," said Small.
The Northwoods EMS was funded by taxpayers, and it's the taxpayers and all in need who will forever benefit from this intuitive collaboration.
"We hope we don't have to meet you, but in your time of need, the district and volunteers will be there," said Joling.
