They are enriching their community in the most basic way.

Saving lives.

The Grand Meadow Area Ambulance Service's 20 volunteers ease pain, help heal and preserve lives at the most critical of times.

The service has been serving as an emergency unit for the cities of Grand Meadow, Racine and Dexter, plus seven townships for many years.

"I think the most rewarding thing has been watching this go from its infancy to what we have now and to be a part of that. There is not many things that you can get involved in and to watch grow the way it has," said Diane Benson, an emergency medical technician. Benson has volunteered since 1982 and is the assistant director and training officer for the ambulance service.

Prior to the city purchasing it, the ambulance service was owned by local funeral home owners. The city bought it in 1989.

The new emergency services building houses two ambulances, a Grand Meadow Police Department squad car and four Grand Meadow Volunteer Fire Department vehicles.

The project was a collective effort of many volunteers from the community and areas around.

"Diane and a bunch of ladies came in here and did all the painting," said Megan Lamp, director of the ambulance service.

The project united the community in a way no other project could. All of the city's emergency services units moved into a single headquarters building with easy access to Mower County Highway 8 and any emergency in the area.

Community pride was showing when the grand opening was held two years ago.

Eight additional volunteers are undergoing training to expand the ambulance service's personnel. Because the training process can be extensive and detailed, it will be three months before the volunteers are fully trained to operate as EMT's, Lamp said.

Training entails about 150 hours of course work, including eight hours of cardio pulmonary resuscitation, emergency room observation, and behind-the-wheel emergency vehicle driving.

After becoming certified EMTs, there is a mandatory 48 hours of continuing education over two years in order to renew their licenses.

In the past year the service lost five of their volunteers.

"It has always been a strictly volunteer service. We are always going to be losing people," Lamp said.

New volunteers are always welcome to sign-up for duty.

Some of the qualifications to volunteer include, graduating from high school, being 18 years or older and such intangibles as

"being committed, having good communication skills and being care-giving," Lamp said.

Once people apply, the ambulance service and the Grand Meadow City Council must approve the candidates.

Once certified for duty, volunteers are scheduled "on call" 24-7. Every day, all the time.

Volunteers usually have their own full-time jobs, so coordinators of the program try to match hours with their free time.

"We have a very committed group. We have EMTs who are committed to doing other projects in the community including teaching babysitting classes, CPR and at school sporting events," Lamp said.

Once the volunteer EMTs arrive at the scene of an emergency, they must follow a protocol set by the medical director.

Along with the community support, the ambulance service works closely with the local fire and police departments.

Lamp, who joined the program in 1981, has been working full time as a Mayo One air ambulance flight nurse since 1979.

Funding for the Grand Meadow Ambulance Service comes from various sources; capital assessments from the cities and townships it serves, grants, and fund-raisers.

"We're always scrambling for funds," Lamp said.

Lately, funding for the service has become and even greater issue.

Last year, a balanced budget act was enacted, reducing the service's revenue and making it difficult to function.

"Medicare has forced us to accept assignment," Lamp said. With the new act the service is unable to collect full payment for its service.

"For example you have a bill of $450, Medicare will pay for approximately $170 and the patient's private insurance might pay $20 or $30. So you have to accept the $200 as full payment, but we have a $450 bill and we cannot collect the rest," Lamp explained.

It used to be that the area ambulance service could bill the remaining amount to the patients.

The change in policy has meant a 45 percent reduction in their revenue and a raise on the rates for the non-medicare patient. About 70 percent of the patients treated in the area are on Medicare.

"If anything is going to close the doors it is going to be money. It is not of commitment it is not lack of training. It is not lack of skill," Benson said

Closing of the service would mean that residents would have to wait for ambulance from either Rochester or Austin to arrive.

"Obviously that means an increase of morbidity and mortality for that patient, " Lamp said.

Staying hopeful on the possibilities and confident on skilled volunteers, Lamp and Benson know how much the community appreciates and relies on the service.

"The bottom line is when we are out there. We are treating family and friends. We have to be the best we can be," Benson said.

Roxana Orellana can be reached at 434-2214 or by e-mail at roxana.orellana@austindailyherald.com