The following is a clarification to the March 9 post regarding Watersmeet Township Emergency Services and is a repeat of information contained in the latest newsletter. Please note Frank Kuchevar’s comment that has been added to the March 9 post.
Watersmeet Township has changed its emergency medical and ambulance service effective March 5, 2016. The new ambulance service will be provided by Aspirus MedEvac which is headquartered in Wausau, WI. Aspirus MedEvac provides both ground and air emergency transport and has service bases in Iron River, MI (Aspirus-Northstar Hospital), Ironwood, MI (Aspirus-Grand View Hospital) and Ontonagon, MI (Aspirus-Ontonagon Hospital) in the Upper Peninsula in addition to the Aspirus-Wausau Hospital and a few other Wisconsin sites. Watersmeet will be served primarily from the Iron River, MI base for the ambulance and emergency medical service on a 24hr/day, 7 day/week basis. Aspirus MedEvac offers a much higher level of service to Watersmeet citizens than the previous service did due to its staffing and their medical capabilities. The emergency process will be similar to previous emergency medical/ambulance requests. The request must be initiated by dialing 911. • The 911 dispatcher (located in Crystal Falls, MI for all of Gogebic County) will notify the Watersmeet located First Responder personnel-24/7. • The first response to the emergency site will be the Watersmeet First Responders. • The First Responders will assess the situation and notify the ambulance service, as required. • The ambulance personnel upon arrival at the emergency site will then assess the criticality of the emergency and act accordingly. There will be Advanced Life Support (ALS) capability provided with each ambulance call. This means that each ambulance call will have one advanced Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) that is capable of applying intravenous requirements and one Paramedic that is capable of administering drug doses or applying other life support actions that an EMT or First Responder cannot do without proper certification. ALS capability was not provided by the prior service. • The personnel at the emergency site then will then determine the next course of action, that is, where to transport the patient based on the criticality of the emergency. The transport will be to the nearest hospital Emergency Room (ER) that is “most appropriate to service the specific medical condition”. This does not necessarily mean the nearest hospital to the emergency site. The key is “most appropriate to service the specific medical condition of the patient. • In general, for non-life threatening conditions, transport will be to the nearest hospital. For south Watersmeet residents, that would be to Eagle River, WI hospital or the Aspirus Iron River, MI hospital depending on what the medical condition is. • For more serious conditions such as a life threatening Cardiac condition, a call would be made to the Aspirus air transport from Wausau and the ambulance would then transport to the nearest landing site possible. Air then would transport to the Aspirus-Wausau Hospital for care. • Or, for a serious orthopedic condition, the nearest “most appropriate service” would be AspirusIron River. • Or, for a serious pregnancy condition, the nearest “most appropriate service” would be AspirusIronwood • Transport to a hospital specifically requested by the patient, or patient’s spokesperson, must have a convincing medical premise. Otherwise, the request will not be honored if the hospital is not the one determined by the medical personnel. Other items that might be of interest: • Average Response time for the ambulance from Iron River to arrive at the US Highway 2-US Highway 45 intersection in Watersmeet is estimated to be 20-25 minutes. Recent actual times thus far has verified this response time. This is much quicker than what the previous service provided on average. Of course, additional time to the specific emergency site will be added depending on where the site is located in the township. This new service, however, will be more reliable to maintain average response time. • The new ambulance service contract with Aspirus MedEvac is for a trial period of one year and is in partnership with the Lac Vieux Dessert tribe. • Watersmeet First Responders have the ability to call upon the Land O’ Lakes, WI ambulance service if the need arises for a quicker response due to a very critical life situation. Land O’ Lakes has a mutual agreement with Aspirus MedEvac for this purpose. This call will occur only occasionally and not be a normal mode of operation. • Aspirus-MedEvac will seek additional mutual assist agreements with other near area service providers in the near future for the possibility of servicing the far west Watersmeet Township residents. It is hoped that the above information will clarify what the new ambulance service will provide and hopefully relieve some anxieties. It is important to remember that this area is a rural area not near a metropolitan area that has many service capabilities. Distances are greater here for service providers. People have chosen to live in this area for many satisfying amenities that are not without risks. The risks, hopefully, can be minimized with cooperation and understanding and reliable service providers REMEMBER. DIAL 911 FOR YOUR MEDICAL EMERGENCY NEEDS! Do not call local phone numbers. Thank you.
Submitted by Frank Kuchevar.