SEDGWICK, Kan. (KSNW) – The City of Sedgwick will have a city-run EMS service for the first time since 2017.

City leaders made the decision to give up their certification to run EMS services because they were not getting enough volunteers. This meant the closest ambulance was coming 15 minutes down the road from Halstead.

The city’s new EMS director believes having in-service in city limits once again will get them under the five minute response requirement by the state of Kansas.

Sedgwick officials made the decision to start stockpiling funds yearly since 2017. Now, they have roughly $500,000 to launch the new department. Having Halstead run the operation for the past several years cost roughly $200,000 yearly.

The new department’s first year in business will cost $400,000, including the capability to pay five full-time employees and 2030 part-time employees.

“We’re in a really good financial place as a city; this year, we had two bond notes pay off, and we had an increased evaluation, and so we were able to actually start this service without impacting the mill levy,” said City Administrator Kyle Nordick.

Nordick said their community is deserving of the move.

“Sedgwick is a community with a great pride, we’re very prideful in our community, we love our first responders, and to be able to bring this service back to the city is just another aspect of that,” he said.

Nordick said that given the money they’ve saved, the opening of the department will not impact residents’ taxes in the first year but could in the coming years. Those details are not yet figured out. City leaders say they will have a funded department up and running by Jan. 1, 2025.

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The new director of EMS services in Sedgwick calls the reopening of this department just the first step in the right direction as they push for a new fire station in the future.

“I have a very, very soft spot in my heart for rural communities because they do have a lot of different barriers,” said Sedgwick EMS Director Jaime Anderson.

Anderson said they will now be able to offer advanced life support services (ALS). The department received two ambulances built in 2008 and 2016. She said buying brand new is unpractical.

“Buying a new ambulance can take up to three years and over $380,000 for a brand new unit. Being able to purchase used ones that are still fantastic and get the job done is great,” she said.

Anderson said chopping the response time from 15 minutes down to five is huge.

“Being able to afford and stand up a paid service, where we’re providing 24/7 service to the community, is huge,” she said.

Anderson said they hope to build a training center in the future, hosting other departments to help pay for future operational costs.

The city hopes that they will soon be eligible to apply for a grant from the state that would build a new fire and EMS station, replacing the one that is over 50 years old, giving them more room and a healthier place to operate.

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