BROWNING, Mont. — For Blackfeet Tribal EMS, responding to an emergency can mean traveling miles across remote roads and challenging terrain before a patient ever reaches a hospital.
The agency covers more than 1.5 million acres on the Blackfeet Reservation and responds to roughly 3,800 calls each year. Now, a new state investment will help the agency replace aging equipment and strengthen its ability to provide emergency care across the reservation.
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Gov. Greg Gianforte and Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services Director Charlie Brereton recently announced an $8.7 million investment through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to support emergency medical services in rural and frontier communities across Montana.
The funding will assist 78 EMS agencies with equipment purchases and provide four new ambulances. Blackfeet Tribal EMS is one of four agencies selected to receive a new ambulance, valued at approximately $340,000.
For Blackfeet Tribal EMS Director Brian Williamson, the funding comes at an important time.
"When I found out that we were selected for this grant, I was so happy. It was a good day. This vehicle and new equipment will help us out immensely," he said.
The agency currently operates four of six leased emergency vehicles, many of which have outdated equipment. Maintaining a fleet capable of responding across such a large service area can be difficult, particularly when winter weather and rural roads add additional challenges.
The new ambulance will be specifically equipped to help crews provide care in those conditions.
It will include a $70,000 power loading system for stretchers, two cardiac monitors and three IV pumps. The equipment will allow EMS crews to provide and maintain a higher level of patient care while transporting patients across the reservation.
The state-funded ambulance is also part of a larger effort to transition Blackfeet Tribal EMS toward an agency-owned fleet.
“We're able to now kind of get a little bit of self-reliance and start building up our own fleet," Williamson said. "And we want to transition away from the lease fleet because it's super expensive.”
Blackfeet Tribal EMS receives funding through third-party reimbursements from the Indian Health Service, with much of that funding going toward employee salaries and the cost of leasing emergency vehicles.
Through the Blackfeet Tribal Health Department, the agency plans to purchase two additional ambulances. Once those vehicles are added, Blackfeet Tribal EMS will have three ambulances it owns, allowing it to eliminate three leased vehicles and reduce its spending on ambulance leases.
Kristy Calfrobe, Blackfeet Tribal Health's grants management director, said securing grant funding can be challenging for tribal entities, particularly when it comes to grants designed to support emergency medical services.
"There's certain stipulations to funding, which sometimes we don't meet as a tribal entity. And so that also makes it really difficult," she said.
That makes being selected as one of four agencies to receive a new ambulance particularly significant for Blackfeet Tribal EMS.
The investment comes as rural EMS agencies across Montana continue working to maintain reliable equipment and provide emergency care across large geographic areas.
For Blackfeet Tribal EMS, the new ambulance will provide more than a new vehicle. It will give crews a more reliable platform to respond to emergencies and provide care in the field, whether they are traveling across long stretches of rural road, navigating winter conditions or transporting a patient toward definitive care.
With thousands of calls each year across more than 1.5 million acres, officials say the additional resources will help Blackfeet Tribal EMS better serve the people who depend on it when an emergency happens.
