By Nick Halter
Wausau Daily Herald
WAUSAU, Wis. — Aging baby boomers are costing municipalities more money as they require an increasing number of ambulance transports in central Wisconsin.
It’s a trend fire chiefs say they can handle for now, but they worry they will need more people and equipment as the boomers enter their 80s, when statistically they are likely to require even more care.
In 1998, the Wausau Fire Department responded to about 3,100 calls for ambulance service. In 2007, it responded to about 4,200. Thirty-three percent, or 1,386, of those calls came from people 80 years of age and older.
“There comes a time — we haven’t reached it yet — when those calls will be more than we can handle if they can continue to go (the way they have),” said Wausau Fire Chief Gary Buchberger. “Right now, we are handling the volume as it goes and we expect to handle that volume for the next few years.”
Full Story: Senior population expected to grow