Some days in EMS are slower than others.
The ambulances stay in the garage. Crews help in the Emergency Department, work on training, complete equipment checks, catch up on documentation and wait for the tones.
Then there are days when everything seems to happen at once.
On one recent morning, Jason and Ashleigh were already several hours away on a long-distance patient transfer to the Twin Cities.
Later that morning, Kate and Rob were dispatched to a 911 call nearly an hour away from Grand Marais.
Not long afterward, another high-acuity call was paged out in the other direction and also nearly an hour away.
At that point, the normal schedule no longer mattered very much.
Kimber (CEO/Administrator) and I left the leadership meeting we were attending, took the remaining ambulance and responded. Kimber, who maintains her EMT certification, drove while I stepped back into the paramedic role.
By the time we reached the patient, managed the scene and access challenges, transported back to North Shore Health, transferred care and completed the documentation, nearly five hours had passed.
Meanwhile, Jason and Ashleigh were still out of the area on their transfer, and Kate and Rob were managing their own call on the other side of the county.
Three crews. Three very different patient-care needs. Three ambulances committed.
That morning was busier than most, but the situation behind it is exactly why rural EMS has to think about coverage differently.
Cook County covers 3,300 square miles. A single transfer to Duluth can take six hours. Weather, distance, remote terrain, and multiple emergencies happening at once all shape how we respond.
That’s why we work hard to staff two crews whenever possible because having an ambulance available isn’t the same as having a crew ready to go.
Our EMTs, paramedics, first responders, nurses, and community partners across the county help make sure someone is always on the way when you need us. In rural EMS, flexibility matters. Teamwork matters. And sometimes… a third crew does too.
– Karla Pankow, Director of EMS