New Proposed Bill Would Allow 17-Year-Olds to Provide Emergency Medical Services

Wednesday, January 24th, 2024 -- 10:00 AM

(Danielle Kaeding, Wisconsin Public Radio) Seventeen-year-olds would be able to provide emergency medical services as part of ambulance crews under a bill proposed by GOP lawmakers in the Wisconsin Assembly.

The proposal would allow 17-year-olds to apply for a first responder certification or emergency medical technician certificate or license at various skill levels, including a paramedic. Current law doesn’t allow that for anyone under 18.

Rep. Karen Hurd, R-Fall Creek, and Sen. Jesse James, R-Altoona, are co-authors of the legislation. Last week, the Republican-controlled Assembly health committee voted 11-5 to pass the bill along party lines.

Hurd said she introduced the bill as emergency medical services, or EMS, agencies have struggled with staffing challenges. She recalled an incident where a member of the American Legion collapsed during a funeral she attended in Fall Creek. Hurd said it took longer for the ambulance to arrive than the time it would have taken to drive him to a hospital in the nearby city of Eau Claire.

“Forty-one percent of the EMS agencies have periods (when) they don’t even have staffing to be able to respond to a request just like what happened to us,” Hurd said. “There weren’t even first responders. We have first responders here in Fall Creek, but there was no one available.”

The figures cited by Hurd come from a report released in March last year by the Wisconsin Office of Rural Health. The office surveyed EMS agencies that provide ambulance service. Of 216 agencies that responded, 41 percent reported periods of inadequate staffing over the previous 12 months.

At least 78 percent of agencies said they had responded to a request for mutual aid due to a lack of staff. The bill has received the support of the League of Wisconsin Municipalities, Wisconsin State Fire Chiefs Association and Wisconsin Department of Health Services.

The Wisconsin EMS Association and Professional Ambulance Association of Wisconsin oppose the legislation.

Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.