The Lodi Area EMS and Poynette-Dekorra EMS are each receiving over $100,000 in federal grants, but long-term challenges remain in funding and staffing.
“We are significantly busier than we have been in past years,” said Lodi Area EMS Chief Russell Schafer. “We have averaged 70-ish calls a month for the last few months, which is abnormally high.”
The department has passed 500 calls so far this year and is on track for about 650 by the end of December, compared to 615 last year, which itself was a record year.
“Our people want to go out on calls, but that’s a bad day for somebody else, so it’s a Catch-22,” said Schafer. “When I say we’re busy we are out taking care of people and getting exposure, but it also means people are sick or hurt or having not-so-good days.”