Mayor's Update February 27, 2021

Greetings!  Recently Fire Chief and Emergency Management Director, BJ DeMaa, spoke to the Common Council about growing demand for ambulance service in the Waupun Area Ambulance District.  The City currently provides ambulance service through a contract with Lifestar and periodically we are experiencing response times that fall outside our standard due to growing demand.  The City of Waupun is the hub of the Waupun Ambulance District.  The service territory of that District not only covers the City of Waupun but also the Townships of Alto, Metomen, Oakfield, Springvale, Chester, Trenton and Waupun, and the Villages of Brandon and Oakfield.  Over time, the District has experienced a consistent uptick in 9-1-1 ambulance calls, with call volume in the fourth Quarter of 2020 up 30% over the same period in 2019.  In addition, calls to Department of Corrections facilities in our community are up 25% for that same time period.  Primary call response types fueling the increase include falls, including those with no transport; mental health; and other increasing medical needs for residents of the District.   These trends were occurring even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Community demographics are contributing to this growing demand as our population ages.  Additionally, growing mental health and other medical needs are contributing factors.  It is important to note that there will be time with any ambulance service when resources are fully consumed and mutual aid agreements are in place with surrounding ambulance districts to support response during those times.   As use of mutual aid increases, the question of when to add an additional ambulance and at what cost must be answered.  The addition of another ambulance to our service contract would come at a considerable cost and it is important that we monitor ongoing trends to inform when and if that decision is made.  An interim step that can be taken to supplement our current ambulance service is to add Emergency Medical Responders (EMR).  This would be a group of volunteers trained to provide preliminary response until an ambulance arrives on scene.  The Council has made the decision to proceed with this recommendation and approved training for EMRs to occur in 2021.  The initial plan will provide training for approximately 10 people.  Fire Chief and Emergency Management Director Demaa indicated that over the last couple of years members of our fire department and individuals in our community have inquired about a city-run run EMR program and he believes the interest is there to fill volunteer positions.  Simultaneous to training, staff will be working on an operational plan for the EMR service with the anticipation that we will be fully operational by 2022 if not before.  More information will be shared on this opportunity as details are finalized. 

Around town, Fond du Lac County Public Health just updated their Safe Restart Plan and moved to Phase 2, relaxing some of the restrictions related to COVID-19.  You can find the latest county-level information on the City’s website.  We’re happy to report that the Waupun Senior Center is planning to reopen as a result on March 1.

Stay safe and we’ll talk again soon Waupun!