MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Financial issues in the EMS system across the state are once again in the forefront after Hillsboro EMS, which serves Pocahontas County, folded last week. The closure makes the 26th EMS system to close over the last two years, citing financial difficulties and a lack of volunteers.

Delegate Joe Statler, R-Monongalia, a member of the House Finance Committee, said a permanent funding source has to be identified. He said over the past two years, EMS and volunteer fire departments have been funded by a patchwork of emergency supplemental funding, and that has to become permanent.

“We do have to find base money to put in the budget so we know that it’s there every year and not wait until the end of the session and hope we can get the money in,” Statler said Wednesday on WAJR’s “Talk of the Town.”

The rural areas of the state are hit especially hard because they rarely have a larger county or municipality nearby that can help in some situations. Some of the struggling volunteer units are asked to serve busy interstate corridors, industrial parks, and oil and gas operations where quick responses are vital to saving lives.

“You’re relying completely on a volunteer service, and in a lot of cases those people are working, and you might have to have two or three departments going together just to respond to that situation,” Statler said.

Larger system are also facing issues.

The Kanawha County Emergency Ambulance Authority is planning a number of changes to operate more efficiently.

KCEAA spokesman Tom Susman recently told MetroNews KCEAA is trying to specifically address the workforce shortage is through a new training program they have implemented that provides the tools for people to become paramedics and EMTs quicker.

He said he believes this workforce shortage in the industry in West Virginia is a result of limited employee pay compared to what EMTs make in surrounding states.

“Based on some statistics from the West Virginia EMS Coalition, it’s kind of like the Hospital Association but for EMS providers, in Maryland they’re paying a minimum mean hourly wage of $29.96 an hour, in West Virginia it’s $21.55, Ohio is $22.50, we’re $21.55, Pennsylvania is $25.51, West Virginia is $21.55,” he said.

Susman said in West Virginia, a major issue is that about 71% of the pay for EMS comes from Medicaid, Medicare, and PEIA and about 30% or less is coming from private corporations.

However, he said in other states, Medicare, Medicaid, and PEIA pay is about 40% and private is about 60%.

Statler believes some funding sources could be identified during the first set of interim meetings planned for the Stonewall Jackson Resort from June 22-24. Also by that time, a study prepared by Jody Ratliff, director of the State Office of EMS, detailing some of the EMS needs across the state is expected to be ready for review.

“We’ve identified some spots of permanent funding we think might work,” Statler said. “But first we need to get all of these pieces of the puzzle together to make sure what we’re doing is the best forward path.”

The EMS funding issue is one of a growing list of priorities in the state that include stabilizing the Public Employees Insurance Agency (PEIA), pay raises across the board, consideration of locality pay, state-run medical facilities, and the foster care system.

“It’s not that we don’t want to help the other organizations out there, even childcare and everything else out there,” Statler said. “But, it’s like your budget at home—what can you afford? What can you do? What are your priorities?”

The importance and value of EMS units across the state is not lost on other members of the legislature, according to Statler. Once a potential solution is identified, it will be vital to have the support of the governor and his staff.

“I think we do have all of the body; it’s just finding what the final solution will be,” Statler said. “Next, we have to get the governor’s office in tune with us.”