In February 1974, I started my first job as a child welfare worker in Bedford, Iowa. Taylor County, where Bedford is the county seat, has no hospital. Shortly after moving to Bedford, I was approached by the City Clerk to see if I would take the training to become an Emergency Management Technician (EMT). When I completed that training, I was prouder of that certification than my college degree: it was difficult training and individual’s lives depended on the use of my skill.
Ambulances traveling to neighboring hospitals in Mt. Ayr, Clarinda, Corning, Creston, and Maryville, Missouri often put those EMT skills to practice. It was also the beginning of working directly for the delivery of emergency medical services. This is something that I did throughout my social work, EMT, and legislative careers.
Little did I know then, that in my seventies, I would be living in a community without a hospital – where emergency management services are so vital to the well-being of the people there.
Additionally, I have always worked with volunteer and professional fire fighters to promote the appreciation, respect, and support they deserve for jobs they do. I am pleased with the quality of West Liberty’s volunteer fire department as well as the paid and volunteer staff of our emergency services.
On July 24, 2024, the Fire Department Task Force met to continue to work on a 28E agreement to establish an independent authority to oversee fire department services. On July 12, 2024, the attorney representing the City of West Liberty submitted a proposed 28E agreement to the attorney representing the rural township trustees.
After careful review of what the City of West Liberty feels is needed to transfer emergency medical services, under my direction, we proposed that the independent entity overseeing fire department services be implemented first and then add emergency medical services after the entity meets state licensure requirements and has appropriate staffing in place. Becoming certified to bill Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance requires a lengthy approval process and must be in place, otherwise the cost of these services will fall directly on the person who needs them.
A major concern for me is the skilled, tenured city employees who currently serve as our emergency medical staff. I want the transition of these employees to occur in a manner that causes no lapses in service delivery and respects the contributions of these employees for care provided to our residents.
The City of West Liberty is now waiting for the response in accepting or modifying the proposed 28E agreement by the rural trustees.
I realize that the efforts to resolve these issues are taking a long time. I feel my oath of office requires that I, first and foremost, work to ensure we continue to have quality fire and emergency services to protect everyone living in West Liberty and the surrounding areas.
From the City’s perspective, the next step in the process is to determine if the parties can move forward with only establishing a joint administrative agency for fire protection services. If so, work will continue to finalize agreements between the City and the Rural Fire District. If not, the issue may have to proceed to court resolution as the City has significant concerns about turning full management of the areas vital emergency services over to a relatively new and relatively untested separate legal entity under the Iowa Code.
Mark Smith is Mayor of West Liberty and can be reached at 641-750-9278 or by email at mayorsmith@CityofWestLibertyIA.org