DILLSBORO, Ind. — Troy Hall's wife couldn't breathe. And he was terrified.
On June 23, the construction worker called 911, provided his address and pleaded for help, according to Dearborn County 911 records.
"I need a life squad right now," Hall told the 911 operator. "Her eyes just rolled back in her head."
Hall and his wife, Rhonda, live a 1/2 mile from where two ambulances are parked inside the garage of the volunteer nonprofit Dillsboro Emergency Ambulance Unit. But 911 records show the Dillsboro unit didn't respond to Hall's home that day.
Two out-of-town EMS departments were also unavailable, according to 911 records.
911 records show a Dearborn County Sheriff's Deputy arrived at their home about 11 minutes after he called 911.
An out-of-town ambulance finally arrived nearly 30 minutes after Hall called 911, according to 911 records.
"It's sad," Dillsboro Emergency Ambulance Unit Capt. Bev Tackitt said. "I hate to see what everybody has to go through struggling, waiting on a squad."
In the first six months of 2023, Dillsboro's ambulance unit hasn't had a crew available for about 120 emergency runs — including reports of traumatic injuries and strokes, according to Dearborn County 911 records.
911 records show the unit responded to about one out of five emergency calls in the town.
"Why have an ambulance building if you're not going to have somebody get us when we need it?" Dillsboro resident Debbie Cornett said.
Tackitt and Co-Captain Harry Witteride said since the pandemic, the unit has lost half its members, including EMTs. They've also seen a dramatic cut in revenue and can't keep up with growing demand.
"It's just hard to see that the community is upset and we're trying our hardest with what we have," Witteride said.
The struggles aren't unique to Dillsboro.
Other volunteer departments in Dearborn County and across the country are struggling with losing volunteers — including EMTS — and lacking the money to buy supplies and equipment.
Dearborn County Council Member Kevin Turner — who became Dillsboro's town manager in March — described the situation as "critical."
Turner said the town, which has a general fund of $383,000, can't afford to provide funding for the nonprofit ambulance unit.
"I believe the answer is professionalism," Turner said. "We're going to have to pay crews stationed throughout the county."
Records show paid staff ambulance crews in Dearborn County are concentrated in Lawrenceburg, Greendale and Aurora.
The Dearborn County Council provided $800,000 in funding this year for local EMS agencies — nearly double the previous funding. Dillsboro's Ambulance Unit received $50,000.
At a council meeting last week, Council President Liz Morris admitted that it's still not nearly enough financial support for the county's EMS departments.
"I think that it's only fair for us to find a proper appropriate means to fund long-term EMS in Dearborn County," Morris told the I-Team. "We don't have that today. It's been a band-aid and it's been a struggle."
Last week, the county council agreed to spend a combined $591,855 on two new ambulances, one for Bright Fire and EMSand the other one for Aurora EMS.
At times, Aurora squads responded to emergency calls in borrowed ambulances from Lawrenceburg and Ohio County because one of their ambulances was in the shop for months.
Dearborn County Commission President Jim Thatcher said he's been trying to help Dillsboro merge and survive.
"The volunteer thing is dead," Thatcher said.
A new state law enables counties to earmark a tax increase for EMS services.
On Monday, the county council will vote on a .2% tax increase that is projected to raise about $3 million earmarked for EMS services.
“I think that it's only fair for us to find a proper appropriate means to fund long-term EMS in Dearborn County," Dearborn County Council President Liz Morris said. "It's a matter of life and death."
If the council approves the tax hike, it's unclear how much money will be available for each department.
Thatcher said commissioners may hire experts to help them come up with a countywide EMS plan that makes sure the new funding is well spent.
"We've got problems," said Thatcher. "But we're trying to fix them."
