Rural areas in the United States are facing a severe shortage of ambulance services, leaving millions of residents living in what experts call “ambulance deserts.” The lack of adequate emergency medical services (EMS) coverage poses a significant challenge to the timely and life-saving response to emergencies in these underserved communities.
Melissa Peddie, an EMS director, and paramedic in Liberty County, rural north Florida, has become a symbol of the critical situation faced by rural EMS providers. With just a single ambulance serving the entire 1,176-square-mile county, Peddie and her fellow paramedics often struggle to provide timely care to those in need.
A recent national study conducted by the Maine Rural Health Research Center and the Rural Health Research Centers and USA Today, reveals that nearly 4.5 million people in the US live in areas that are 25 minutes or more away from an ambulance station. More than half of these individuals reside in rural counties, where access to emergency medical services is particularly scarce.
The closure of rural hospitals across the country has only worsened the situation, forcing EMS providers to travel long distances to reach the nearest hospital or trauma center. The study emphasizes the need for a systematic funding model to support both rural and economically disadvantaged urban communities, ensuring their access to essential emergency medical services.
Rural areas, such as Liberty County, experience higher poverty and mortality rates compared to urban regions. The analysis of 41 states conducted by the Maine Rural Health Research Center reveals that ambulance deserts exist in approximately 80% of US counties.
Certain regions, especially in the South and the West, face more significant challenges in terms of underserved populations and inadequate ambulance coverage. States like Nevada, Wyoming, Montana, and others have fewer than three ambulances covering every 1,000 square miles, resulting in limited emergency response capabilities. These regions often have to rely on mutual aid from neighboring countries or tribes to fulfill their emergency medical needs.
One major issue contributing to the shortage of ambulance services in rural areas is the lack of a systematic funding approach. EMS providers primarily rely on funding from local governments, and not all states allocate supplemental funds for these services. Counties like Liberty County struggle to cover the expenses from their general revenue budgets due to insufficient state funding.
Additionally, EMS agencies often face challenges in receiving reimbursements from insurance companies, unless patients are transported to an emergency room. This inconsistent funding model, coupled with rising costs of equipment, medications, and staff salaries, leads to significant financial burdens on counties and compromises the provision of quality emergency medical care.
The repercussions of the ambulance shortage fall disproportionately on poorer communities. Research has shown that high-income areas with a larger proportion of white patients tend to have shorter response times compared to economically disadvantaged regions. In many cases, volunteer EMS personnel step in to fill the gaps left by the shortage, but this workforce is also facing challenges. Aging volunteers and difficulty recruiting new one’s further strain the availability of emergency medical services in rural areas.
To address the critical shortage of ambulance services in rural America, experts and advocates argue for the establishment of a sustainable funding model that ensures equitable access to emergency medical care. Similar to the critical access hospital program, which provides enhanced funding for medical centers in rural and underserved communities, a comparable system for rural ambulance services could help alleviate the current crisis.
By prioritizing stable financing, improved reimbursement structures, and enhanced recruitment and retention strategies, it becomes possible to ensure that local communities have access to prompt and reliable emergency medical services when they need them the most.
