North Dakota EMS Association

1st Meeting of the Ambulance Service Advocates in Fargo on June 8th:

Back L to R: Ken Krupich, Neil Frame, Tim Meyer, Lynn Hartman, Dan Schaefer, and Ken Habiger

Middle L to R: Mark Weber, Dean Lampe, Curt Halmrast, and Tom Nehring

Bottom L to R: Tammy Tuenge, Cindy Voeller, Mike Sandy, and Sherm Syverson

It is the Mission of the North Dakota Ambulance Service Advocates to promote and develop the leadership, professionalism, and sustainability of North Dakota ambulance service operations.

It is our vision to accomplish this mission through legislative activities, leadership development, public education and recognition as a public service entity, equitable reimbursement, and other issues important to ambulance operations.

There are many issues facing the future of North Dakota EMS…a shortage of volunteers, increasing regulations, education requirements, funding, the list goes on. When we glance to the horizon and notice the drawbacks that our organization may face we cannot help but ask, “How can we continue to provide unrivaled pre-hospital care?”

There are many functions that are absolutely necessary to carry North Dakota EMS into the future. First, all North Dakota EMS agencies must carry one voice. We must continue to be proactive to deal with many of the issues and challenges the frontier regions face.

The second necessity is effective representation. In order to meet the growing needs of the EMS industry we must share our stories and needs with our government leaders at all levels. Our local, state, and national leaders must realize that EMS is an imperative component of exceptional healthcare and the troubles that we currently face. When someone talks about public safety, we want to hear them put EMS, Fire and Police all in one sentence!!

Finally, we must continue to seek out alternative funding sources and manage staffing issues. Simply relying on reimbursement alone isn't going to sustain ambulance services long-term and with dwindling volunteers and aging staff, how can services continue to provide 24 hour/365 day EMS to the citizens of North Dakota.

The North Dakota EMS Association is creating the North Dakota Ambulance Service Advocates to tackle these, and many more issues head on. The Advocates will be an alliance of ambulance agencies that will work to improve and innovate EMS in North Dakota with proactive ideas and legislation. By joining the North Dakota Ambulance Service Advocates, you can become a crucial component of a unified voice for ambulance services in our state.

For more information on becoming a member of the North Dakota Ambulance Service Advocates, please contact Curt Halmrast, NDEMSA President, or Mark Weber, NDASA Advocacy Coordinator for a brochure, member dues, or questions.

North Dakota

Ambulance Service Advocates (ND ASA)

Ambulance Service Advocates
(ND ASA)