A new regional emergency medical services collaborative serving southern Dane and northern Green Counties has been awarded a Wisconsin Innovation Fund grant by the State Department of Revenue. These dollars will support the all-new Sugar River Emergency Medical Services (EMS) District set to formally begin service on Tuesday, June 30.
“This grant is recognition by the State of Wisconsin that communities are better served when they work together to improve services that citizens depend upon,” New Glarus Administrator Kelsey Jenson said. “This grant recognizes true innovation. Seven villages and towns teamed together to show what’s possible with emergency medical care in even some of the most rural parts of Wisconsin, and we believe strongly this is a replicable model,” Jenson added.
As part of the Wisconsin Innovation Fund Grant award, the seven villages and towns who came together to create the new Sugar River Emergency Medical Services District are eligible for an annual grant payment of $241,209 over the next five years. The grant requires those dollars to be reinvested directly into EMS to help cover a variety of costs associated with the new regional public safety entity.
“This award is a testament to what can happen when neighboring communities come together to solve challenges collectively,” Belleville Village Administrator Drew Eveland said. “The State’s investment will help support Sugar River EMS as it begins this next chapter, and we appreciate the confidence placed in our communities and the district.”
“Emergency Medical Services are a core service all communities depend upon, and these grant dollars will help meet what we know will be increased need as this area continues to grow,” Belleville Village Administrator Drew Eveland said.
“The new Sugar River EMS District reflects what’s possible through partnership and working together is imperative in this line of work,” Sugar River EMS Chief Chris Backes said. The state’s investment and belief in our new regional collaboration will benefit patients and their families for years to come.”
“The time is now to improve emergency medical care for Wisconsin’s rural communities,” Sugar River Deputy EMS Chief Josh Wescott said. “Through innovation like this and a willingness to do things differently, all of us in EMS can get ambulances to patients quicker and most importantly improve medical outcomes, regardless of where folks live.”
The Sugar River EMS District is comprised of the Villages of Belleville and New Glarus along with the entirety of the Towns of New Glarus, Montrose, and Exeter, and portions of the Towns of Brooklyn and Oregon. The district has over 80 emergency medical responders who staff ambulances 24 hours a day, seven days a week at stations in each Belleville and New Glarus. Sugar River EMS currently operates three ambulances — Rescues 48, 49, and 50 — along with two rapid response vehicles — Car 5 and Car 6. A fourth ambulance — Rescue 51 — is slated to go into service in the coming weeks.
Sugar River EMS would like to thank Governor Evers, Senator Howard Marklein, Senator Dianne Hesselbein, Representative Jenna Jacobson, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the New Glarus School District for their support of this grant application, and all of our community partners for their support throughout this collaboration.
