In response to the Des Moines Register's two-part story on the shortage of emergency response workers throughout Iowa, I wrote this Letter to the Editor, published September 25, 2022. Not that anyone's listening . . .
EMS troubles highlight deeper problems
Re: "When you call 911, will an ambulance come in time?"
(Sept. 18): For those who claim Iowa’s lack of emergency services is just
another crisis that needs some money thrown at it, chew on these facts (not
opinions):
At the same time Iowa’s EMS demands grow because of
the demographics of aging and chronic illness, the number of Iowans aged 18 to
64 is shrinking.
A convoluted and expensive process to declare EMS
“essential” is moot for the nearly 1,000 Iowa towns that don't even have the
funds to train willing volunteers, which are 75% of the EMS workforce.
The conscious denial of Iowa’s crisis of health care
access by those who are paid to know better is not only deplorable, it is
downright life-threatening.
- Jo Kline, West Des Moines