Opinion editor’s note: Editorials represent the opinions of the Star Tribune Editorial Board, which operates independently from the newsroom.
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Seconds and minutes matter when there’s a medical emergency. It’s imperative that lawmakers take the same time-is-of-the-essence approach when it comes to resuscitating the state’s ailing emergency medical response system.
Having trained responders and an ambulance show up swiftly after calling 911 should not depend on where Minnesotans live or happen to be at the time. Yet rural communities in particular are struggling to provide this core public service as populations dwindle and the costs of providing this care continue to exceed reimbursements for it. A historic workforce shortage in Minnesota and elsewhere has compounded the problem.
“The issue is so acute in my district and in northern Minnesota that it’s almost harder to find communities that aren’t dealing with challenges than it is to find ones that are,” said Sen. Grant Hauschild, DFL-Hermantown. “It’s nearly everybody once you get north of Cotton.” Cotton is a small St. Louis County community about 36 miles north of Duluth.
The challenges aren’t limited to northern Minnesota.
“This is something that health care providers, law enforcement and county commissioners are talking with me about on regular basis,“ said Sen. Jordan Rasmusson, R-Fergus Falls. ”We would have situations where it could take 45 minutes for an ambulances to arrive in a rural community. To me, that is just not an acceptable level of care and misses the expectation that my constituents have.“
These struggles are not new. A sharply critical 2022 report from the respected Office of the Legislative Auditor spotlighted the dire situation, noting not only “persistent staffing and funding challenges across the state,” but also a system that has lacked ”meaningful oversight.”