Private EMS seeks county jurisdiction

A new private ambulance service on the west end of Sanders County is asking to be included in county emergency service responses.

Members of Sawtooth EMS, based in Heron, last week approached the county about bringing ambulance service to Heron. The area currently is serviced by the Noxon Community Ambulance, a volunteer organization. Commissioner Tony Cox said that the commissioners and county representatives were there to help facilitate the discussion. “Hopefully we can come to a solution,” he said.

Shawna Chenoweth with the Sanders County Sheriff’s Office is the lieutenant in charge of the dispatch center and jail. Chenoweth said if Sawtooth was to be included in county emergency services, a clear jurisdiction would be needed in order to make sure her staff knew who was to be paged on a call. “Our goal is to provide the best quality of EMS service for the county,” Chenoweth said. “We’re trying to hear both sides. We have a group eager to help and an established service with concerns.”

Dave Niesen with Sawtooth EMS said that the company has two ambulances and 13 personnel, including three EMTs, one EMR, two EMTs in training and one EMR in training. Dan and Brandi Jones are the lead trainers with the organization. Niesen said Sawtooth was looking for a jurisdiction that is the same as the Heron Fire District, serving from the Idaho state line to about mile marker 8 on Highway 200. Commissioners Cox explained that no taxpayer money was available for Sawtooth as the current levy is for the four existing ambulance services in the county - Noxon, Thompson Falls, Plains and Hot Springs. In order for that to change, the decision would have to be made by Sanders County voters, Cox stated.

“We’re a non-profit, but we’re not asking for any county funds,” Niesen said. He added that they are in discussion with Bonner County as well.

Teri Burt with the Noxon Community Ambulance Service expressed concerns about the county giving jurisdiction to Sawtooth. “We weren’t really informed timely,” Burt expressed. “I think lack of communication is one of the problems. Noxon Ambulance has been left out.” Burt went on to say that changing the jurisdiction would impact all of the other ambulance services in the county, noting that it would shorten up Noxon’s jurisdiction and affect mileage. She said that 17% of call volume for the Community Ambulance Service occurred in Heron in 2022. “I strongly urge no action. It’s premature to give Sawtooth approval until it’s at a county level,” Burt added. She asked the county to take into consideration billable runs. “That would be quite a reduction for us. This isn’t about income, it’s about providing the best service for our communities. On paper it sounds great, but there are a lot of questions that need to be answered.”

Resident Debbie Lyman spoke in support of the Noxon Community Ambulance. “I want the protection the Noxon Ambulance has proven they can give us. Jim Greiner, board chairman of the Heron Rural Fire District, stated that they have not been contacted by Sawtooth EMS to discuss any collaboration. “I would love to see an ambulance, but it has to be done the right way,” he stated.

Commissioners John Holland asked Sawooth if they could work with Heron Fire. “Absolutely, our focus is the patient,” Niesen replied.

Bill Naegeli is head of the Office of Emergency Management for the county. “A big concern is if we dispatch, we have to have an MOU (memorandum of understanding) in place. They have to have backup. Also, an area needs to be defined so dispatchers don’t have to guess,” he said.

Niesen said the primary focus of Sawtooth EMS was to get shorter response times in Heron. Sawtooth has four lines of business, including community para-medicine, hospital-to-hospital transport, 911 dispatch and contracting for EMS services with the U.S. Forest Service. Sawtooth told the county they are hoping to go live with services in mid to late July.

Several people at the audience suggested the county get input from the Heron community. Brandi Jones showed the county delegation a list of 74 names she had in support of Sawtooth EMS.

Chenoweth said it was unfortunate that the two ambulance services couldn’t work together to come to a resolution and that the county had to get involved. With that, she and Sheriff Shawn Fielders are asking members of the Heron community to provide their opinions in the form of letters to them. Chenoweth and Fielders will take the public input into consideration before coming to a decision on whether or not to include Sawtooth EMS in county dispatch services. Members in attendance at last week’s meeting also asked for the county to hold a public meeting in Heron so more community members could attend.

The county is asking for public comment on the proposal for Sawtooth EMS to be added to 911 services in Sanders County. Comments can be emailed to [email protected] or [email protected] and must be received by Wednesday, July 14. The county asks people to include their name and town of residence with the emailed comments.