A volunteer shortage could force the only Greers Ferry ambulance to stop running, putting lives on the line. It's one of the state's only strictly volunteer ambulance services. It's also the last EMT team running for free in the state.
If you need a ride to the hospital, it won't cost you a dime. Your insurance company won't even get a bill, but now, free rides and medical care are both on the line if more volunteers don't help out.
"We're just desperate for volunteers," says EMT Karen Jones.
"A lot of times, I'm on three shifts in a row, and that's a lot of hours," says EMT Jerry Lee.
Jones and Lee are the backbone of the Greers Ferry ambulance team, but these retirees need new blood. "We'd love to get some younger people in that can learn and become really interested in maybe going into the health profession," says Jones.
Since Greers Ferry is a small, mostly retirement community, the EMTs say this is really important.
"We got a bunch of elderly people here. If something happens, we're the only way they can get to the hospital," says Lee.
The Arkansas Department of Health tells FOX16 Greers Ferry is only one of a dozen volunteer ambulance services in the state and the only one in danger of folding. If that happens, Jones says Greers Ferry would contract out to a private ambulance service costing money.
Right now, she and Lee just hope volunteers rescue their EMS team. "I say give it a try. You'll like it. It's addictive, you know, you'll like it," says Lee.
Right now, they have six EMTs and six first responders. While the volunteer shortage in Greers Ferry is extreme, it's an issue everywhere in Arkansas. Each run needs an EMT, first responder and driver.
To find out how to help the Greers Ferry EMS team or to volunteer, call Karen Jones at (501) 825-8392.
