Across Pennsylvania, emergency medical services are in crisis. It is not just a rural issue. It is not just about volunteers. It is a systemic failure; unless we act now, lives will be lost waiting for help that never comes.
In recent years, local EMS agencies have struggled to maintain their operations. Some have shut down completely. Response times are growing longer. Staffing shortages are widespread.
This is not just alarming. It is dangerous. And it is not going to fix itself.
What many people do not realize is EMS is not optional. Under Pennsylvania law, every municipality is legally responsible for ensuring its residents have access to EMS coverage. It is as fundamental a public service as police or fire protection. Yet EMS is the only one of those three that typically receives no direct share of your tax dollars.
That’s right. When you pay your local taxes, none of it is automatically set aside for EMS. Many residents understandably assume they are supporting ambulance services through their property taxes. In most cases, they are not.
EMS agencies survive on a patchwork of patient billing insurance reimbursements that rarely cover the actual cost, donations and small municipal contributions. That model is broken, and it has been broken for a long time.
To make matters worse, the old reliance on volunteer EMTs is no longer sustainable. Training requirements have increased. Fewer people have the time or flexibility to serve. Most agencies now rely on paid, professional staff who are expected to respond at all times, every hour of every day.
But without stable funding, how do we pay them?
The answer is clear. We need a regional EMS authority.
A unified authority would enable our communities to collaborate, share services and establish a sustainable and professional system with guaranteed 24/7 coverage. Just as important, it would stabilize funding by ensuring everyone pays their fair share. That includes municipalities, residents, businesses, nonprofits and institutions like county housing authorities — all of which benefit from EMS, but not all currently contribute.
This is not about creating another layer of government. It is about finally treating EMS the way we treat other essential services — professionally, with accountability and with proper funding. It is about ensuring that no resident waits 30 minutes for an ambulance that is supposed to arrive in five minutes. It is about meeting our legal obligation to provide EMS and our moral obligation to protect lives.
If we fail to act, the consequences will be real and irreversible. But if we come together, we can build something better. The time to fix EMS is now.
Dwight Boddorf, Tarentum’s borough manager, is chair for a committee exploring the possibility of a paid EMS authority to serve Brackenridge, East Deer, Harrison and Tarentum.