PESHTIGO (NBC 26) — Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers appeared in a couple of stops across Wisconsin Tuesday to announce an $8 million investment in local emergency medical services.
A statement from Evers said the investment is intended to support and stabilize EMS providers across the state. Gov. Evers previously announced the investment during his 2022 State of the State address as part of a $20 million investment to support Wisconsin EMS providers, especially in rural communities. Evers said this includes another $12 million for one-time flexible grants for small, under-resourced EMS providers who did not otherwise qualify for specific existing state grants.
The one-time supplemental $8 million investment, funded through the state’s American Rescue Plan Act dollars, was distributed to communities that receive annual Funding Assistance Program (FAP) grants, Evers said in a statement.
FAP grants are available to all public ambulance service providers, including volunteer fire departments, nonprofits, and county and municipality services. The governor's office said it can be used for things such as new emergency service vehicles, safety upgrades to existing vehicles, patient transport equipment, and more. Each awardee received a supplemental grant of $24,390 in addition to their regularly allocated grant.
Gov. Tony Evers, together with Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) Secretary-designee Karen Timberlake, highlighted the funding Tuesday with three stops around the state in Peshtigo, Wausau, and Westby.
In Peshtigo, the governor visited the city municipal building which had also received a more than $3 million grant to support the expansion of telemedicine accessibility in the area and the development of two new EMS facilities.
A full list of grant awardees and amounts is available here.
