Montana Launches EMS Leadership Academy for Rural Towns

When Mary Jo Gehnert's phone rings at 2 a.m., she needs volunteers ready to jump in an ambulance and drive across Dawson County to save lives. At 64, after nearly 28 years as an emergency medical technician, she worries about what happens when volunteers like her retire.

Montana State University just rolled out a solution that could change everything. The Montana Frontier EMS Leadership Academy is training rural emergency responders in six towns across the state with courses designed specifically for their unique challenges.

The program tackles real problems facing rural EMS teams. Volunteers in places like Glendive and Ennis drive up to 45 minutes to reach patients, often after working full-time jobs. Many services are just one or two retirements away from being unable to answer emergency calls.

Federal funding of $250,000 per year will support the five-year program. The online courses cover recruitment, retention, mentorship, and leadership skills that emergency workers can complete at their own pace on their phones or computers.

Gehnert's team of 20 volunteers responded to 830 calls last year in Glendive alone. After taking the leadership training, she learned to better motivate her team and created a social media page spotlighting each volunteer. The response from her community has been overwhelmingly positive.

In Ennis, director James McBirnie faces different challenges. His Madison Valley service covers such a huge geographic area that responders sometimes drive 45 minutes before they even reach a patient. The training has helped him develop strategies to maintain response times despite the distance.

The Ripple Effect

Nearly 20 people have completed the training so far, and the impact is already spreading. Monthly discussion calls connect EMS leaders from all six towns, where they share everything from billing software tips to creative recruitment strategies on social media.

The state's Department of Public Health and Human Services partners with MSU to coordinate the program. Together, they're addressing what EMS system manager Shari Graham calls "a dwindling workforce, increasing call volume, and increasing public expectations."

Project director Kailyn Mock sees this as critical infrastructure for Montana's future. Rural communities depend on emergency services, and these volunteer-run teams are the backbone of healthcare in frontier areas where hospitals might be hours away.

The trainings work because they're tailored to Montana's reality. Course topics come directly from requests by the participating sites, ensuring the content addresses actual problems these teams face every day.

After the initial five years, program leaders plan to secure additional funding to expand the resources to more rural communities across Montana and potentially serve as a model for other states facing similar challenges.