SENECA COUNTY, Ohio — WTOL 11 has learned that emergency medical services in Seneca County are stretched thin.
Officials say it could soon pose a risk to county residents in need.
"It is becoming so acute at this point in Seneca County that it's very near a crisis level," said Seneca County Commissioner Mike Kerschner.
Since 2014, the number of EMS volunteers in Seneca County has dropped from 140 to 75.
With four joint ambulance districts covering most villages and townships running entirely off of volunteers, that's a large area to cover by a small group of people.
Because of that, Kerschner says the quality of care for EMS patients in the outlying area has suffered.
"You should be able to get the same type of professional care as you would if an incident occurred in Tiffin or in Fostoria," said Kerschner.
Darrin Mack has been with the county EMS since 2008, starting as a volunteer himself. He says it takes a lot to be able to drop everything to jump in an ambulance to help those in need. With so few volunteers signed up, the load is uneven.
"A lot of them, they volunteer 300 hours a month," explained Mack, "and that's a lot to ask of somebody to do on top of raising a family, going to work and doing stuff like that."
Currently, the proposal is to combine EMS services with the county and the four joint ambulance districts into one unified group.
With the combined budgets, the county would be able to hire 18 to 24 full-time paramedics and establish three to four permanent county EMS stations, flipping the strategy from volunteer-based with full-timers assisting, to being a full-time force assisted by volunteers.
"Even if we have a full-time squad in a given ambulance district, there is always the probability that a second call will come in, and the second ambulance will be available for those volunteers to man," said Kirschner.
The decision will have to be made by the commissioners and township trustees directly, as the majority of county residents live in Tiffin and Fostoria, which offer municipal EMS services.
The next meeting between the Seneca County Commissioners and the four joint ambulance districts from across the county will be Thursday, Sept. 2.