Tucker County EMS undergoing recertification amidst budget challenges

PARSONS, W.Va (WDTV) - Tucker County Ambulance EMTs are undergoing recertification.

Wednesday was one part of six different modules necessary to keep their national certifications.

But for a thin stretched department, it can be sometimes easier said than done.

During the training, some of the professionals had to go out on a call.

The Tucker County Ambulance Board President Dennis Filler says it’s the reality of their work.

“The tough thing about it is yeah there’s a lot of recurrent training, employees are recertified every two years there’s a lot of work that has to be done by our professionals because this is a professional career,” said Filler.

Even though it’s a lot of time and hard work getting this training in -- it’s crucial in order to keep the station compliant, not only on the national level, but the state level.

One of the EMTs Joseph James Strait says the training they go through on a state level is especially important.

“In actuality the state of West Virginia requires more hours than what’s required for national registry so they’re a little ahead of the game,” said Strait.

Tucker County differs from many other small departments -- they rely solely on paid staff.

Filler says their budget has shrunk by about $250,000 since the EMS ordinance fee was voted away last November.

He says the consistent level of care their ambulances need to provide is truly only feasible with a paid staff.

“In the traditional sense of ‘Johnny come running’ it doesn’t work because they need to have their certifications up to date, they have to understand the protocols that are constantly changing from the state, so we can provide the best care that we can,” said Filler.

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