Governor Gordon’s Focus for Health Care Improvements in 2022 is on Emergency Medical Services

Governor Mark Gordon’s Health Task Force and the Wyoming Department of Health have been working on ideas for improvements to the delivery of health care in Wyoming. Sheridan Media’s Ron Richter has the details.

Emergency medical services have been a major focus in the early months of work by the task force and the Department of Health. The Wyoming Legislature supported proposals brought forward to help stabilize the system and to pilot projects that regionalize the service to reduce costs and provide additional care. According to a media release from the Governor’s Office, since last year, Gordon’s Health Task Force has been engaged in conversations to better understand EMS operations around the state. Regional EMS providers have struggled to sustain operations in recent years due to a combination of factors, including low call volume, high cost of operations, staffing and volunteer shortages, and reimbursement for services.  

As a result of the conversations and recommendations from the Health Task Force’s EMS Subcommittee, Gordon requested the Legislature appropriate $20 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding to help stabilize the current system and provide regional pilot programs to address sustainability of operations.  The Legislature recognized the importance of stabilizing the EMS system in Wyoming by approving $5 million in stabilization funding and $10 million to develop regional pilot programs. The task force and the Department of Health will be hosting a series of regional discussions with stakeholders to address challenges related to EMS in the coming months. The first regional discussion will take place in Cheyenne and address Trauma Region 3, which includes Albany, Laramie, Goshen and Platte Counties. Additional meetings will follow in each of the state’s five trauma regions, with exact dates and locations still to be determined.