A proposal led by Sun Prairie’s Fire and EMS Chief Christopher Garrison and supported by several EMS leaders would ask the city to allot over $700,000 for wages to hire new paramedics in light of the upcoming closure of SSM Health’s Sun Prairie emergency department, Channel 3000 reports.
The wages would support the hire of seven paramedics to staff a fourth ambulance. Garrison noted that of the 4,000 calls Sun Prairie Fire and EMS receive annually, around one-third of patients are sent to SSM’s Sun Prairie ER.
The closure of that location will triple the transport time for patients from nine minutes to 27 as they are funneled to downtown Madison.
Garrison’s proposal would reallocate funds saved from the consolidation of Sun Prairie’s fire and EMS departments. It would also acquire funds currently being used to pay part-time paramedics, citing retention issues.
On Tuesday, the proposal was unanimously approved by the city’s Public Safety Committee. It still awaits city council approval.
