By Nick Mariano
The Southern
MURPHYSBORO — Despite limited resources, crews and vehicles, Jackson County ambulances respond to calls in half the time set by national standards, the county’s director of ambulances services said.
That is not to say there aren’t challenges, she said. And those challenges are shared with most rural counties that fund and operate their own service, said Dottie Miles, who also sits on the board of directors for the Illinois State Ambulance Association.
Many Southern Illinois counties, she said, are forced to provide their own services because private companies cannot remain profitable in them.
Though not considered an essential service like police and fire protection — something Miles said she hopes will change — Jackson County spends about $3.5 million for its service. Most revenues are generated by emergency calls, but all ambulance services are supposed to be reimbursed by the state through Medicaid. Most of those payments fall short of the actual cost of the emergency call, Miles said.