Hard times reveal true character. Many of us have watched and participated in the 30-year process of SJI EMS growing from its inception to the small town, world class agency it is today. It’s hard to believe the current storm blown against it is brought on by another “public service” entity. Watching as district fire attempts to savage EMS for their own advantage at such a significant cost to the community is indeed disturbing.

Cooperation and trust are the indispensable, requisite components of the bedrock on which any successful merger would have been built. When leadership at fire clearly orchestrates a campaign to derail funding for vital community services, and has never let the need for truth telling be an impediment toward those ends, it perfectly illustrates why that trust is missing.

As fire suppression responses decrease, and local fire flounders under the weight of faltering leadership, EMS is now a hot property—and fire has its eye on EMS’s scope of practice and, more pointedly, by extension, their budget, in an attempt to maintain relevance and solvency.

Our EMS team consistently has the #1 rural cardiac save rate in the US. They were studied by the American Heart Association and featured on 60 minutes for their stellar performance. EMTs and paramedics are focused on providing excellent medical care for you and your loved ones. Why would we risk degrading our system?

Please Vote Yes…Save EMS!

Eric Koons

Friday Harbor