Durbin Visits Gibson City Hospital To Highlight Federal Funding For Rural EMS Services
GIBSON CITY – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with leadership staff at Gibson Area Hospital and Health Services (GAHHS) to discuss the recent enactment of Durbin’s Supporting and Improving Rural EMS Needs (SIREN) Reauthorization Act. Thanks to Durbin’s legislation, GAHHS has received nearly $500,000 in SIREN grant funding for their ambulance service.
The SIREN Reauthorization Act extends funding for five additional years for SIREN Act grants to rural fire and EMS agencies nationwide. The funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), which was created through Durbin’s SIREN Act, supports rural EMS agencies in training and recruiting staff, conducting certification courses, and purchasing equipment, including naloxone to address the opioid overdose epidemic.
Since receiving federal funding through the SIREN Act, GAHHS has been able to recruit 17 new EMS personnel; enroll 132 students in EMS training; enable three EMTs with “basic” certification to achieve “paramedic” certification; train 229 EMTs on the use of naloxone and distribute 1,400 naloxone doses; reduce service area response times for emergency calls; and purchase EMS equipment, including: blood pressure cuffs, tourniquets, airway supplies, blood glucose monitors, CPR device, cardiac monitor and defibrillator.
“Across Illinois, rural hospitals are the heart and soul of their communities, providing essential access points to health care and anchoring the local economy,” said Durbin. “Many rural hospitals also operate the region’s ambulance service, delivering lifesaving EMS care when seconds truly count. I created the SIREN Act to support these first responders and their rural. From providing new technology like CPR machines or training for EMTs and paramedics, the federal funding GAHHS has received thanks to the SIREN Act is making a critical difference.”
In attendance to discuss these awards with Senator Durbin were Gibson Hospital CEO Rob Schmitt; COO Robin Rose; Mark Brake, a paramedic with the hospital’s ambulance service; and Amanda McKeon, a grant writer for the hospital.
“We were grateful to Senator Durbin for visiting GAH today. His voice has been instrumental in supporting rural health care through his SIREN Act by supporting EMS agencies in rural areas. GAHHS has received SIREN funding over the past two years enabling us to purchase life-saving equipment like the Lucas device for CPR, provide necessary training, and pay for EMS personnel to obtain certifications. It is important to have a voice in D.C. and we enjoyed having the opportunity to speak to Senator Durbin about rural health care challenges and show him in-person what this type of funding means to hospitals like ours,” said Rob Schmitt, CEO of Gibson Area Hospital and Health Services.
The bipartisan bill was initially signed into law in 2018 as part of the Farm Bill. Since then, Durbin and cosponsor Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) have led the appropriations effort to grow the program from $5 million annually to $11.5 million this year, resulting in a total of $40 million in grants nationwide to 42 states. Besides Gibson City, the SIREN Act has resulted in new funds to rural EMS/fire agencies in Carbondale, Nauvoo, Amboy, Jerseyville, Mt. Carmel, and Paris, Illinois.
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