Ambulance service gets bigger, busier

The new Shawano Ambulance Service building formally opened its doors to the public Sept. 18, eight months after moving into the facility on North Main Street.

Pat Trinko, director for the ambulance service, told a group of 30 people in attendance that the building was needed as the old facility had outlived its usefulness and the area has seen a marked increase in calls for ambulances. The total forecasted calls for this year is expected to be 3,770; just 20 years ago, Shawano Ambulance was called out 2,343 times.

Trinko attributed the increase in calls to an aging population. In 2015, about 20% of the population in Shawano County was 65 or older. He said the estimates in 2030 is that the elderly population will double.

“In the grand scheme of things, that’s not a long time when you’re talking facilities and building systems,” Trinko said. “That’s why we decided we need to get out in front of this, because almost 90% of the people we transport are over the age of 65.”

Shawano Ambulance covers Shawano, Bonduel, Cecil, Gresham and all the surrounding towns, but there are times when the ambulance service is called out of the area, when neighboring ambulance services are unavailable to those in need. The local company also executes 1,300 to 1,400 interfacility transports per year, according to Trinko, because ThedaCare Medical Center-Shawano can only provide certain services. Many in need have to be cared for in Green Bay, Appleton, Wausau or even further away.

“We have a great hospital here in Shawano, but it’s rather limited,” Trinko said. “They don’t have ortho; they don’t have cardiac. So people who have some higher surgical needs generally have to be transported out to a different facility.”

The ambulance service provides more than simple aid and transportation to medical facilities. Trinko said the Shawano service specializes in early intervention for a ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), the most severe type of heart attack.

“We were one of the first services in the state to ground transport a STEMI and bypass your local hospital in favor of a facility that can treat that STEMI appropriately. You need a catheterization lab,” he said. “So we petitioned the state of Wisconsin to do some things that have never been done before.”

There are also times when Shawano Ambulance provides non-emergency services. Besides transportation to hospice facilities and nursing homes, the service also provides educational programs like free CPR classes, industrial first aid classes and child car seat inspections by forming a 501(c)(3) nonprofit to get grants and cut down on costs by the public.

“What we found with our cardiac saves was almost every time we were able to resuscitate a patient, somebody was doing CPR before we got there,” Trinko said. “That was our impetus to go out there and teach the general public.”

Trinko noted that it takes more than two dozen employees to keep the ambulance service alive.

“The people are the most important part,” Trinko said. “Yeah, we’ve got nice trucks, and we’ve got a nice, new building. But it’s these people who are the heart and soul of the operation.”

The local ambulance service has managed to thrive in spite of a nationwide shortage of emergency medical technicians and paramedics. Trinko said folks aren’t as community-minded as they used to be, which is why major services like Shawano’s are needed so badly.

“We’re seeing ambulance services fail all around us and had several close in the last couple of years,” Trinko said. “We have several right in Shawano County that are having a rough time providing coverage to their areas. They’ll get a call in one of the outlying areas, and they just won’t answer.”

lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com