PERRYSBURG TOWNSHIP, OH (TOLEDO NEWS NOW) - Local emergency responders say rising EMS costs are making it more difficult to save lives.
Nearly 25 percent of the levies on the Wood County November ballot are related to ambulance and EMS services. Perrysburg Township is one community with a fire and EMS levy on the ballot. The staff gave some numbers behind the services to demonstrate the rising costs.
A life pack paces the heart and monitors the patient. It costs $30,000. There is also a new device that allows first responders to put a camera down a patient's airway. That comes in at $1,100. An automated CPR device costs $14,000.
That doesn't include the cost of vehicle purchases and maintenance as well as paying staff, training and continuing education.
State funding has been cut by 25 percent and eventually will be reduced by as much as 50 percent.
View all issues on the Wood County ballot.
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