By Bill Carey
EMS1
BROOKE COUNTY, W.Va. — Brooke County Commissioners approved changes in funding for the county’s EMS services.
Approximately $120,000 in state funds will be allocated toward a new initiative aimed at retaining county employees, WTOV reported.
“What we did here in Brooke County is we took the total amount of working hours that all of our EMTs and paramedics worked from October of 2023 through March of 2024 and, based on how much they worked within that period, dictated what they received from this state bonus money that they received,” County Commissioner A.J. Thomas said.
The remaining funds will be utilized from April through September of this year in the same manner. Thomas expressed hope that this initiative will help retain existing staff, noting that the geographical location of the area presents challenges in keeping employees.
“This additional funding is a recognition from the state that we need to work on retaining this kind of employee. For a couple of years there we had a severe drought when it came to trying to find these people, get them to stay here in the county,” Thomas said. “We were losing a lot of people to surrounding states. That’s one of the downsides of being in the panhandle.”
The change in funding is expected to be implemented immediately.
