| Dear Rural EMS Leader, As a rural EMS leader, you know all too well how rural ambulance services function as an essential component of rural healthcare systems. But today, rural EMS agencies are facing greater challenges than ever before: · Recruitment and retention difficulties make it hard to attract and keep qualified staff, whether volunteer or paid · Education and training requirements are increasing · Equipment and fuel costs are going up even as reimbursement is going down · Both day-to-day and long-term management of your limited financial resources are becoming an increasingly delicate balancing act · You know your agency provides a huge benefit to your community, but you don’t have a way to quantify it Sound familiar? But there’s good news: Using financial tools originally developed for rural hospitals, rural EMS agencies can now validate the financial benefit they provide to the community, as well as demonstrate the level of financial distress they face — information that can be used to justify funding requests and other forms of assistance. The Paramedic Foundation is pilot-testing these tools (known as the Rural Ambulance Service Community Benefit and Financial Distress Toolkit) right now in Ohio and we ask for your help. By submitting your agency’s data via the toolkit, you’ll help build a more solid understanding of the financial benefits—and challenges— of rural EMS agencies. In return, you’ll receive specific information you can use both to demonstrate your agency’s financial contributions to the community you serve, and to validate your agency’s financial needs in terms of actual dollar amounts. You make a tremendous difference in your community. Now, for the first time, you can show just how much. Get started by completing the survey that will be emailed to you by The Paramedic Foundation. Please return the survey to The Paramedic Foundation by March 1, 2020. | 
