“If there’s an emergency, there’s an expectation that help is coming quickly,” said Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg, who spoke at the Rockwell City Public Library on Thursday. “Rural EMS can be a challenge, however. Average ambulance response time is 25 to 30 minutes in some areas.”

As this challenge becomes more widespread in rural Iowa, Gregg is promoting Iowa United First Aid and seeking volunteers for this innovative new program. Calhoun County is one of three counties (along with Cass County in southwest Iowa and Van Buren County in southeast Iowa) to participate in a pilot program for Iowa United First Aid. The mission is to provide immediate medical intervention during the critical window between the onset of an emergency and the arrival of traditional ambulance assistance.

Volunteers who sign up to be part of Iowa United First Aid will receive approximately 10 hours of CPR+ level training for free. The training will cover CPR, first aid, control-the-bleed, and use of an automated external defibrillator), a sophisticated, yet easy-to-use, medical device that helps to re-establish an effective heart rhythm in people experiencing sudden cardiac arrest.

Along with trained volunteers, Iowa United First Aid will leverage GPS-location technology and smartphones to promote faster response time.

-Messenger photo by Darcy Dougherty Maulsby
Following an informational meeting on Nov. 2 in Rockwell City about Iowa United First Aid, Bruce Musgrave (second from left), director of Calhoun County EMS, answered attendees’ questions about the automated external defibrillator (AED), a sophisticated, yet easy-to-use, medical device that helps to re-establish an effective heart rhythm in people experiencing sudden cardiac arrest.

“This system is like Uber, but for lifesaving,” Gregg said. “Using technology to notify the trained first-aid volunteers who are closest to the site of the emergency could really be a game changer for rural Iowa.”

Each county in the pilot project for Iowa United First Aid is receiving $75,000 (including $50,000 in state funds, plus a $25,000 match from the county) to fund the program for a year. Trained first-aid volunteers will receive a go-bag (containing basic first aid gear and an AED), valued at approximately $2,500, to use in their role with Iowa United First Aid.

Volunteers are not expected to be on call constantly. They can decline a request for assistance, if they are unavailable. In that case, dispatch will reach out to other volunteers in the region.

“Dispatch won’t send an alert to every volunteer for every emergency,” said Gregg, who noted that Iowa’s “Good Samaritan Law” protects first-aid volunteers in terms of liability. “Also, volunteers won’t be sent to every emergency, such as a domestic violence case or haz mat situation.”

While Iowa United First Aid does not replace the need for EMTs, paramedics or ambulance service, trained volunteers can bridge the gap between an emergency and the time when the ambulance arrives. Early activation of 911, along with immediate CPR and first aid, can double or triple a person’s chance of survival, according to information shared with the 20 people who attended the Thursday meeting in Rockwell City.

Also, research has shown that the sooner CPR is started after cardiac arrest, the better the outcomes, Gregg added. Every minute that passes without CPR reduces the likelihood of survival by approximately 7 percent to 10 percent, according to CPR Select.

Both Gregg, who grew up in Hawarden, and Gov. Kim Reynolds, who grew up in St. Charles, are strong proponents of Iowa United First Aid.

“We both come from small towns, and it’s really important to us that there’s a good quality of life in small-town Iowa,” Gregg said.

Learning from Israel

The idea for Iowa United First Aid took root during a trade mission to Israel in March 2022. That’s where Gregg learned about United Hatzalah, a free, volunteer-based emergency medical services organization that serves people throughout Israel.

“Hatzalah is the Hebrew word for rescue,” said Gregg, who noted that the Israeli volunteers’ average response time is 90 seconds in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, and three minutes in other parts of Israel.

Gregg met with Eli Beer, the founder of United Hatzalah. Beer had always wanted to work on an ambulance crew and achieved his goal while he was still a teenager. Through his years of service, however, he learned that ambulances rarely, if ever, arrived fast enough to save a life. He never forgot the time a call came in to assist a 7-year-old girl who choked on food during a birthday party.

“By the time the ambulance arrived 45 minutes later, the girl had died,” Gregg said. “A doctor who lived right around the corner said, ‘If only I had known, I could have helped her.'”

This story not only motivated Beer to create United Hatzalah, but it touched Gregg, as well.

“I was incredibly inspired by the work United Hatzalah and wondered if this is something we could adapt for rural Iowa,” Gregg said. “We have a lot in common with Israel, including an ethic of respecting and protecting God-given life.”

The need is great, he added.

“There are lots of situations where minutes matter, whether someone is bleeding from a farm accident, suffering a heart attack or stroke, or facing an opioid overdose. These things happen every day throughout our state,” he said

Along with training in basic first aid, CPR, and operating an AED, first-aid volunteers can also be trained to handle Narcan, an opioid overdose treatment.

“We’re not asking for EMT-level training for Iowa United First Aid,” Gregg said.

The only requirement (once volunteers are trained) is to keep current on their CPR certification every two years.

Creating new opportunities

The minimum age to participate in Iowa United First Aid is 18. Project leaders hope to get 25 to 30 volunteers who are strategically located throughout each county to participate in the pilot program. Van Buren County has 30 volunteers signed up already. Calhoun County has approximately eight so far, although more people expressed an interest following the recent meeting in Rockwell City.

“Rural Iowa is known for its tight-knit communities, where people work together to solve challenges,” said Scott Jacobs, a Calhoun County supervisor who looks forward to seeing Iowa United First Aid get underway.

Iowa United First Aid also creates a unique opportunity for people interested in a medical career, Gregg noted.

“I think this will be a workforce pipeline for future EMTs and paramedics who will go on to serve with ambulance crews in our communities,” he said.

He’s optimistic that Iowa United First Aid can expand beyond the three counties in the pilot program.

“There’s no reason this concept has to be limited to just a few counties or just rural counties,” he said. “It could work in Des Moines and other cities, too.”