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ut we must always be prepared to adapt
our response to help meet the region’s
dynamic and ever-changing needs.”
Approximately $7 million of that allotment
is earmarked for rural fire districts,
while the remaining $5.2 million is to be
used to enhance the region’s emergency
medical services.
What about the
workers?
From the citizens’ perspective, the
major concern is that the quality of emergency
services will decline. The Energy
Impact Grant funds will provide significant
aid in this area. However, another
problem that must also be solved comes
from the opposing perspective: how are
those workers who are providing the
emergency service faring? While they
work over-time to ensure patient care and
emergency calls are attended to, their own
well-being could be in jeopardy. Among
emergency personnel, “our main concern
is burnout,” says McKenzie County
Commissioner Ron Anderson.
He and Kerry Krikava, the county’s
ambulance leader, along with members
of the North Dakota Association of
Oil & Gas Producing Counties, met in
December 2013, following the Land
Board’s announcements, to discuss this
and other issues facing the medical services
force due to the rapid population growth
in the region.
Anderson expressed that the meeting
was a great opportunity to discuss the
issues that matter to the state. Though he is
optimistic that a plan can be put into place
to tackle the problems that North Dakota
faces, population growth has resulted in
some numbers that are very concerning for
the state—now, and in the future.
For example, the emergency room
at one hospital currently sees about 500
patients in one month. Five-hundred is
more on-pace with the number of patients
a busy mid-sized city hospital would see.
In 2011—before the population boom—
that same hospital’s average was 10 or 11
patients in a month.
In just over two years, this hospital has
had to handle 50 times its usual capacity.
It is an isolated case, but without imminent
change, this hospital’s experience could
become the norm. Medical and emergency
services around the state are experiencing
similar challenges. Without some major
changes taking place, two years is not
enough time to adapt to such rapid growth
and still be able to provide exceptional
patient care.
“In just over two years, this hospital
has had to handle 50 times its
usual capacity. It is an isolated
case, but without imminent
change, this hospital’s experience
could become the norm.
Looking
for a long-term
solution
One solution that’s been floated is to
set up another service station in a region
like Alexander, ND.
“It’s an under-served area,” says
Anderson. Setting up there would
alleviate some of the demand experienced
by emergency personnel in surrounding
regions. At first glance, this seems like an
ideal solution, particularly after factoring
in the grant money allocated from the
Energy Impact fund. Each new station
would cost one million dollars per year
to operate.
“For one year, grant money can easily
cover it, but that’s not the problem,” says
Anderson. “What about next year?”
New service stations would then be
relied upon as a necessary part of the
network of emergency care, but it would
also struggle for funding year after year.
It is not a viable or long-term solution,
even though it may look good in the very
short-term.
“We would be better served by a transfer
service,” says Anderson. “The present
ambulance squad would be able to handle
it.”
Sparsely populated states like Wyoming
and Montana have similar systems
in place. “We’re not creating something
brand new here in the United States. This
exists elsewhere.”
Now, the plan is to leverage off those
established practices to build something
sustainable
here in North
Dakota. Anderson
maintains that
a strong community-centred
focus
will be key to continued
success with
emergency services.
The Community
Wellness Centre in Watford
City has been open
for two years. It was “a
super success based on community
support, and it was a
nice addition to the community,”
says Anderson. He hopes
to emulate that success with the
new McKenzie County hospital.
The new hospital, combined
with a medical facility
and clinic will also have a nursing
home attached to it. They
will be breaking ground in the
spring of 2014. The hospital was
funded entirely by public community
support, the oilfields, private funding
from banks of North Dakota and the
USDA. Sizeable donations allow donors
to name a portion of the hospital, which
helped boost funds.
BASIN BITS | Spring 2014 93