When emergencies happen in northern Butler County, it can take time for help to arrive.

It’s geography, but sometimes it’s also a lack of resources and staffing. Some residents in certain municipalities have a rather lengthy drive to the nearest hospital, but we also have been reporting about staffing and funding struggles experienced by local EMS providers for well over a year now.

At this point, leaders in municipalities like Mercer Township need to act to protect their residents amid emergencies, and on Monday evening, Nov. 18, that’s what township leaders did.

The supervisors designated Harrisville Volunteer Fire Department to act as their agency for quick response service, or QRS. This goes into effect after the fire department finishes the steps it needs to take to acquire its QRS license.

So what’s a quick response service? It’s is a type of medical service that responds quickly to emergencies and provides care to patients until an ambulance arrives.

QRS doesn’t take a patient to a hospital, but it takes care of them until additional help arrives.

Supervisor John Bennett said the new agreement doesn’t change the township’s relationship with Superior Ambulance Service, the township’s main emergency medical services provider.

Rather, it helps in the instances where the ambulance service can’t arrive as quickly as would be ideal.

We recognize this is the right action for Mercer Township to take. It’s what needs to happen for its residents to have the best care during an emergency. But this isn’t the ideal solution to the problem.

The funding and staffing concerns of EMS providers must be addressed by elected leaders on all levels, especially those who can address funding at a state and national level.

In the story of Hans Brinker, the boy who saved Holland by plugging a hole in a dike with his finger, Brinker is hailed a hero. But he didn’t save the country alone. He held on until the villagers came to assist in the morning, following a long cold night.

We’re amid the long cold night. Conversations around the issues our EMS providers are facing must continue.

We’re looking to elected leaders, again, on all levels, to be our villagers.

— TL