Funding and Politics: The Effects on Jefferson County, WV EMS

The average response time for emergency responders to arrive to the scene of an incident varies wildly dependent on many factors. In urban environments the national average is about 8 minutes, while in rural environments it can take 15 minutes to much longer. ­That’s why the recent decision of the Jefferson County Emergency Services Agency (JCESA), to reduce the staffing of the Middleway and Bakerton Fire departments, is especially troubling.

According to a post by the Middleway Volunteer Fire Company, this change is “due to the lack of a properly set ambulance fee and lack of general revenue in the county budget”. This caused the County Commission to instruct the JCESA board to move resources to other locations. Unfortunately, this decision will force Middleway and Bakerton to go to volunteer only response, the following service issues:

- Approximately 50 square miles of coverage area will be affected.

- The effected area is most isolated from hospitals and advanced care.

- dramatically increased response times and consequently decreased availability.

- Forcing 1/3 of companies to provide staffing directly from their overall budget.

According to the Middleway Volunteer Fire Company, this will cause service issues in the areas from:

- Strider Rd in Kearneysville down Leetown Rd to the Clark County line

- Dark Lane area to the Berkeley and Frederick County lines in Summit Point

- residents from Charles Town, Ranson and further east in the county due to capable companies assisting in covering effected areas.

For the residents in Jefferson and the other effected areas, it is imperative that members of the community become trained to respond to emergencies to account for delays in EMS services. Taking a First Aid and CPR class trains you to help save a person’s life or keep a person alive until EMS can arrive. Additionally, immediate interaction can reduce patient recovery times, increase patient comfort and can prevent the situation from becoming worse.

Consider taking our Stop the Bleed, Adult and Pediatric First Aid/CPR/AED, Wilderness and Remote First Aid and/or Basic Life Support courses to better help your community today. Courses can be found at www.emp2c.com/firstaidtraining