Photo by Mike Lamb Becky Paluch, left, and Kathy Wall are co-directors of Ivanhoe ambulance.

IVANHOE — Becky Paluch was studying at Minnesota West Community and Technical College Worthington campus and needed some extra credits. So she took some emergency medical technician classes.

Kathy Wall watched her mother volunteer for years with Ivanhoe ambulance.

“I just saw the community need for it. They needed EMTs,” Wall said.

Paluch and Wall got involved with the Ivanhoe ambulance service in different ways. Today, both are serving as co-directors for the same reason.

“We need help,” both said at the same time.

Paluch and Wall say Ivanhoe is not unique to other small communities in southwest Minnesota when it comes to first responders — especially EMTs. Unlike other communities, the Ivanhoe ambulance service is city operated, while most services are linked to a hospital. And the coverage area goes well beyond the Ivanhoe area and can sometimes take their ambulance all the way to the Lyon County border.

“If you think about it, we’re just lucky to have it here because if you are waiting for Marshall to get here, it’s a half hour for them, whereas we can maybe be there 10 to 20 minutes,” Wall said.

While 10 minutes may seem a long time for medical care, she said the alternative is much longer.

“Time is of the essence or if you’re having a stroke or a heart attack. Our ambulance is rolling within that 10 minutes every time,” she said.

Ambulance members are on call for 12-hour shifts.

“Staffing is really become more of an issue than the calls, to be honest. Because nobody can get EMTs. So we (communities) are all struggling and everybody is a volunteer. Nobody is paid to sit,” Wall said.

“We ask a lot of our EMTs and first responders,” Paluch said.

Currently, Ivanhoe ambulance is operating with just six volunteers and respond to 70 to 90 calls a year. And that includes spouses and both of their mothers.

“It’s kind of a weird family affair,” Paluch said with a laugh. “I don’t want to say we forced them (family members) into it, but we just kind of coerced them. You know we just need help.”

They really could use a few more EMTs. Fortunately, a couple more volunteers are currently taking the courses and testing to become EMTs.

Their sales pitch to those in the community when it comes to recruiting is simple.

“People have to realize their grandparents are in the community,” she said. “And if we can’t do this, it’s gonna be a long time. They are gonna be waiting a long time.”

Besides response time, Paluch said Ivanhoe’s ambulance is unique because its city owned. She said patients can be transported to the nearest hospital.

“We don’t have a hospital. Whereas most ambulances report to a hospital,” she said. “And so we’re only one of three services in our county. And we’re kind of the most centrally located in Lincoln County. We can go toward whatever is closer –whether it’s Tyler, Hendricks, Canby, Marshall. Whereas most ambulances when you’re associated with a hospital, you typically have to go back to your home base. So Tyler really is supposed to go back to Tyler, Hendricks goes back to Hendricks, Canby goes back to Canby. Marshall the same thing. Whereas we’re able to pick based on the circumstance. We can choose which one is going to be best for our patients.”

The ambulance crew do receive help from the fire department — especially lift assists. But the ambulance crew helps the fire personnel whenever they respond to fires or other emergencies.

“We are there to take care of our firemen as well,” Paluch said. “We have an amazing fire department here in Ivanhoe. If we have a sticky circumstance where we can’t lift someone, we can call our fire department. And we always get a response of extra hands.”

Both Paluch and Wall stress the job does come with plenty of stress. Paluch said many calls can be hard to deal with mentally afterward. However, there is counseling available.

“We had a slug of calls that were really hard with children. You work through the mental anguish because you can’t talk about it openly because of the HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act). You know the kids because you babysat them and that makes it really difficult. Now as the years gone on and you see those kids thriving and still have the parents appreciate the service that we were able to do for them.”

“That makes it worth it when I see the kids running around. We did something we hoped made a difference,” Wall said.

“We don’t do this for the praise by any means. But it’s nice. It’s just good to see people thriving after we have seen them at their worst,” Paluch said.

The dedication by Paluch and Wall goes beyond the patients they transport. They are dedicated to support those willing to take the classes to become EMTs.

“We help you because we want our community members when they’re in their classes to be successful, to have the confidence to be on our crew. And even when you’re done with your classes, you’re never by yourself. We make sure that you are with a team learning where everything is. We’re super, super supportive and it’s just because our community needs the help,” she said.