WKBT La Crosse, WI-NewsChannel 8-Forum Addresses La Crosse Emergency Medical Service
Next month the City of La Crosse will meet with Tri-State Ambulance and area medical centers in mediation to discuss ways to improve emergency medical services. One suggestion has been to transfer EMS responsibility to the La Crosse Fire Department. Tri-State disagrees with this plan.
Wednesday Tri-State hosted a public forum to educate community members on the EMS system in the Coulee Region. Tri-State officials say they have made suggestions for improvements, but they do not believe giving EMS responsibilites to the fire department will benefit either the city, or patients. "We're doing it now so that as we begin to look at enhancements to the EMS system, those that have already been proposed and those that may be proposed in the future, everybody who may have a stake in the system understands how those changes may impact them," says Matt Zavadsky, Director of Tri-State Ambulance.
La Crosse Fire Chief Gregg Cleveland says there is no formal proposal yet for changing La Crosse's emergency medical services. Cleveland says next month's mediation session is a chance for the city to discuss other options for ambulance response.
