Kamiah to receive paramedic service

The city of Kamiah and its fire-rescue organization will usher in a new era of high-quality emergency service, cooperation and care during a ribbon-cutting ceremony today at 3:30 p.m. at the Kamiah Fire-Rescue station, 515 Main St.

The ceremony will celebrate a new joint-powers agreement between the city and the Kamiah Fire Protection District for receiving its 911-Paramedic Response and Paramedic Interfacility license from the Idaho Bureau of EMS and Preparedness.

“This is huge,” said Kamiah Fire Chief Bill Arsenault. He pointed out that from Orofino to north of Riggins “is one of the largest areas of the state that doesn’t have any paramedic service. (With Kamiah’s new certification) paramedics are bringing the ER to the patient. They’re bringing knowledge, training and experience and a huge understanding of the complexities of response.”

The turnaround in Kamiah’s emergency and fire response followed a couple of years of internal conflict between volunteer emergency medical technicians, firefighters and city administrators. Just a year and a half ago, the Kamiah ambulance was considering surrendering its emergency medical service license.

Arsenault came on the scene about 14 months ago and reorganized what was mostly a compensated volunteer program of 15 to a unit of six full-time paid professionals, including four paramedics and 25 compensated volunteers.

It is the only 911 paramedic level service in Lewis, Idaho and Clearwater counties. It serves primarily the Kamiah, Woodland, Glenwood and Caribel areas, but the ambulance reaches to the east portion of Lewis County, the northern area of Idaho County, and into Clearwater County south of the Greer Bridge.

Having a professional and trained staff, Arsenault said, is going to make significant improvements in emergency response in the area.

“We don’t have a hospital in Kamiah or Kooskia or Stites, so the nearest hospitals are 35 to 40 minutes’ drive on a good day. And then in the winter it can be up to an hour or an hour-plus.”

Arsenault said in 2020 the Kamiah ambulance received 420 calls, including everything from car crashes to cardiac arrests.

This year the team is already on schedule for close to 600 calls. Ambulance response time has tightened up from 8 minutes 44 seconds from the time of dispatch to when the ambulance was en route to now being out the door in one minute or less, he said.

Part of that streamlined response comes about from having a full-time staff. Other agencies that had been reluctant to call on the Kamiah team because of the problems of the past, Arsenault said, are now eager to join forces with Kamiah and expect to call on the team even more frequently in the future.

“By having paramedics in this area we are going to be able to help a population of about 8,000,” he said. “We’ve upgraded a lot of equipment in the ambulances and now we’re cross-training EMTs who are learning to do firefighting skills and the firefighters are learning (about) the ambulance.”

Kamiah Mayor Betty Heater said the upgraded emergency unit is a bonus for the city and for the surrounding area.

“It’s not just the city but what it means for our community,” Heater said. People “will have a level of care that they’ve never had before. With the paramedic level service … by the time (patients) get to the hospital they will have a much higher chance of recovery.

“We live on one of the deadliest highways in Idaho and now, the accidents that happen, they’re going to be able to get better and faster care with highly trained paramedics.”

Heater said most of the conflicts of the past have been resolved and the city has built “a team and we all have the same goal in mind — to serve this valley the best they can.”

Wayne Denny, bureau chief of Idaho Emergency Medical Services and Preparedness Bureau, said there is a paradox that “communities farthest from a hospital have the greatest need for paramedic or advanced life support emergency medical care but many times have trouble maintaining even a basic emergency medical care response. … It is great to watch the continuing growth of EMS in rural Idaho and the collaboration and creativity that makes this possible.”

And Lewiston Fire Chief Travis Myklebust added “The impact on the Kamiah area will be significant by now providing (advanced life support) level services. Looking back at areas in Idaho who started providing (ALS) services have added great value and improved treatment to their community members.”

Kamiah’s emergency service is funded through ambulance fees, grants and the Kamiah Fire Protection District.

Hedberg may be contacted at kathyhedberg@gmail.com or (208) 983-2326.