When someone calls 9-1-1 in certain rural Iowa counties, the first person to show up may be a neighbor not an EMT on an ambulance or a firefighter.
Three of the most rural counties have been selected to participate in a new program -- Iowa United First Aid -- that will get trained volunteers to emergencies to provide medical treatment until an EMT arrives.
“If there’s an emergency, there’s an expectation that help is coming quickly. Rural EMS can be a challenge, however. Average ambulance response time is 25 to 30 minutes in some areas,” Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg said recently.
Volunteers in Calhoun, Cass and Van Buren counties will resceive receive approximately 10 hours of medical training including CPR, how to use an AED as well as how to control severe bleeding, according to The Messenger.
They will be provided with a jump bag containing various medical equipment.
Using technology, dispatchers will send alerts to trained volunteers who are closest to the emergency. But officials don't expect people to be on-call 'round the clock either.
“Dispatch won’t send an alert to every volunteer for every emergency. Also, volunteers won’t be sent to every emergency, such as a domestic violence case or hazmat situation,” Gregg said adding that the state's Good Samaritan law will protect them from liability.
The civilian response corps is not being formed to replace EMTs, paramedics or ambulance services.
Gregg said the sole intent of the program is to get medical help to people quickly.
“There are lots of situations where minutes matter, whether someone is bleeding from a farm accident, suffering a heart attack or stroke, or facing an opioid overdose. These things happen every day throughout our state,” he said.
A Calhoun County supervisor, Scott Jacobs said of the program: “Rural Iowa is known for its tight-knit communities where people work together to solve challenges."
