The Dorr Township Board Thursday night learned that Wayland Area Emergency Services has been extremely busy this year, and that could translate into increased costs for next year.
Penny Post, who represents Dorr Township on the WAEMS Board, along with Don Kaczanowski, said the service has handled 2,200 calls thus far this year, including 311 in March and 362 in June. She said WAEMS is on pace to have the most calls it’s ever received in a year.
Wayland Area Emergency Medical Services offers life saving services to the City of Wayland and the townships of Wayland, Dorr, Hopkins, Leighton, Martin, Yankee Springs Monterey, Orangeville, Salem and Watson. It is a non-profit entity owned by the service communities and funded through patient billings, memberships and local government subsidies.
“We’re going to exceed 3,000 (calls) by the end of the year,” Post warned. “We’re going to run out of money… We’ll be asking for more money (from service communities) next year.”
She said she believes the increasing work load is the result of population growth in the area and more and more older people are choosing to live out their remaining years in their own homes rather than in nursing centers and assisted living.
Trustee John Tuinstra asked if there is a way WAEMS can somehow cut down on answering low-priority calls, but she told him that protocol insists all appeals for help be taken seriously and responded to almost immediately. Post, a 12-year paramedic, also noted that WAEMS continues to make courtesy calls in which the patient doesn’t pay, such as wheelchair lift assistance or checking children’s temperatures if asked.
She also said that Medicare and Medicaid payments from the government are only a set amount and cannot be increased.
