08/14/2026
Copied from Harper County EMS Information Page.
Protecting Emergency Care in Harper County
Part One: Who Will Be There When You Call 911?
If your spouse suffered a heart attack tonight, would an ambulance be available?
If your parent experienced a stroke, would there be a local ambulance ready to transport them when every minute counts?
If your family was involved in a serious automobile accident on one of Harper County's highways, how quickly could emergency medical professionals respond?
These are questions most of us never think about—until we need emergency medical services.
Every day, residents and visitors throughout Harper County depend on Buffalo Emergency Medical Service District and Laverne Emergency Medical Service to answer those calls. Whether responding to a medical emergency at home, a serious automobile accident, a farming accident, or an illness during a community event, our EMS professionals are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
These dedicated men and women are often the first healthcare professionals to arrive when seconds matter most. They provide lifesaving care, stabilize patients, and transport them to the hospital or coordinate with air medical services when advanced transport is needed.
Providing emergency medical coverage is more than simply responding to emergencies. It means maintaining trained personnel, ambulances, medical equipment, and the ability to respond every hour of every day—whether an ambulance is actively on a call or standing by for the next emergency.
Like many rural ambulance services across Oklahoma, Buffalo EMS and Laverne EMS are adapting to increasing financial and operational challenges while continuing to provide dependable emergency medical care for the residents and visitors of Harper County. Their commitment to serving our communities has never changed, but the challenges of providing that service continue to grow.
Why Is This Happening?
The cost of providing emergency medical services continues to rise every year.
Fuel costs have increased. Medical supplies, medications, insurance premiums, equipment, ambulance maintenance, and employee benefits continue to become more expensive. Replacing a single ambulance now costs more than $325,000.
At the same time, reimbursement from Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial insurance companies has remained relatively stagnant and often does not cover the actual cost of providing emergency medical care.
Our ambulance services are also facing additional challenges:
· Current wages are below fair market value, making it difficult to recruit and retain qualified Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) and paramedics.
· Harper County's population has declined to approximately 3,200 residents, resulting in fewer ambulance transports and reduced operating revenue while the cost of maintaining 24-hour emergency coverage continues to increase.
· The current Buffalo EMS ambulance fleet consists of model year 2008, 2012, and 2013 ambulances.
· The current Laverne EMS ambulance fleet consists of model year 2005 and 2017 ambulances.
· As these vehicles continue to age, maintaining reliability becomes increasingly difficult, and replacing them places a significant financial burden on local EMS agencies.
A Large Area With Limited Resources
Emergency medical coverage in Harper County spans an exceptionally large rural area.
· Buffalo EMS provides emergency medical coverage across approximately 533 square miles.
· Laverne EMS provides emergency medical coverage across approximately 835 square miles.
Together, these agencies provide emergency medical services across approximately 1,368 square miles of highways, county roads, farms, ranches, schools, businesses, churches, and community events.
Buffalo EMS and Laverne EMS have worked together for many years to provide emergency medical services throughout Harper County. Each agency serves its primary response area while supporting one another during major incidents, periods of high call volume, mutual aid requests, and whenever additional resources are needed. This partnership helps ensure emergency medical care remains available across the entire county.
Unlike larger cities where multiple ambulances may be stationed just minutes away, Harper County depends on a limited number of ambulances and EMS professionals to respond wherever an emergency occurs.
A Year of Service to Harper County
Emergency medical services involve much more than responding to 911 emergencies. In addition to emergency responses, ambulance crews transport patients to higher levels of care,
provide medical assistance without transport when appropriate, and coordinate with air medical services for critically ill or injured patients.
Buffalo EMS (July 1 – June 30)
During the past year, Buffalo EMS provided:
· 139 total 911 responses
· 84 patients transported
· 55 non-transport assistance calls
· 94 interfacility transfers to other medical facilities
· 41 transfers to the airport for patients requiring Air Evac transport
Many patients require transfer from Harper County Community Hospital to larger medical centers for specialized treatment. Whenever a Buffalo EMS ambulance leaves the county to transport a patient, another qualified crew must be available to respond if a 911 emergency occurs. Finding that backup coverage has become increasingly difficult because of workforce shortages and limited staffing.
Laverne EMS (July 1 – June 30)
During the past year, Laverne EMS provided:
· 211 total 911 responses
· 112 patients transported
· 99 non-transport assistance calls
Together, Buffalo EMS and Laverne EMS responded to 350 emergency 911 calls during the past year while also completing 94 interfacility transfers and 41 Air Evac transports from Buffalo, all while maintaining emergency coverage across 1,368 square miles.
Not every EMS response results in a patient being transported to the hospital. Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) often assess patients, provide treatment at the scene, assist individuals who do not require transport, or respond to situations where transport is ultimately declined. These non-transport responses are an essential part of emergency medical care, but they generally cannot be billed, even though personnel, fuel, medications, medical supplies, and equipment are used.
Community standby coverage is another important service provided by both EMS agencies. Ambulances and crews are assigned to community events to ensure immediate medical care is available if an emergency occurs. While these services help protect public safety, they often generate little or no reimbursement.
During the past year:
· Buffalo EMS provided standby coverage for 9 community events, including football games, cross-country meets, and fire department support.
· Laverne EMS provided standby coverage for 11 community events, including football games, parades, mass gatherings, and fire department support.
These events require ambulances, medical equipment, fuel, and trained personnel to remain available, demonstrating that emergency medical services extend far beyond responding to 911 calls..
What Does This Mean for Harper County?
Providing dependable emergency medical services in a rural county requires planning, investment, and a commitment to the future.
Without sustainable funding, the challenges facing rural EMS will continue to grow.
That could mean:
· Longer response times.
· Delays in transporting critically ill or injured patients.
· Delays in meeting Air Evac helicopters.
· Difficulty replacing aging ambulances.
· Continued challenges recruiting and retaining qualified EMTs and paramedics.
· Reduced ambulance availability when multiple emergencies occur at the same time.
· Difficulty maintaining EMS coverage for community events, school activities, and other public gatherings.
Harper County has always counted on local emergency medical services. The question before us is how we ensure that same dependable service is available for future generations.
A Dedicated Investment in Community Safety
To address these challenges, a proposal for a dedicated one-cent county sales tax for emergency medical services will appear on the November ballot.
The proposal would establish a stable, local funding source to help Buffalo EMS and Laverne EMS continue providing dependable emergency medical care throughout Harper County.
If approved by the voters, the revenue generated from this sales tax would be legally restricted for emergency medical service purposes. By law, these funds could not be diverted to other county programs or unrelated expenses.
The funding would help:
· Replace aging ambulances before reliability becomes a concern.
· Recruit and retain qualified Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) and paramedics.
· Keep pace with rising operating costs.
· Purchase and maintain essential ambulances, medical equipment, and supplies.
· Maintain dependable emergency medical coverage throughout Harper County.
Both Buffalo Emergency Medical Service District and Laverne Emergency Medical Service are committed to transparency and accountability. Each agency conducts public meetings where budgets and expenditures are reviewed, and both agencies receive annual financial audits by the Oklahoma State Auditor and Inspector to help ensure public funds are managed responsibly.
As Election Day approaches, we encourage every resident to learn about the proposal, ask questions, attend community meetings, and become informed before casting a ballot.
It's About Protecting Our Community
This proposal is not simply about replacing ambulances or balancing budgets.
It is about making sure that when a loved one suffers a heart attack, when a parent experiences a stroke, when a family is involved in a serious automobile accident, or when anyone calls 911 in the middle of the night, help is on the way.
Emergency medical services are one of the few public services that every resident may need at some point in life. Whether you have lived in Harper County your entire life or are simply traveling through our community, dependable emergency medical care benefits us all.
No one plans to need an ambulance.
But everyone expects one to come when they do.
This Is the Beginning of the Conversation
This article is the first in a series designed to help educate our community about the challenges facing rural emergency medical services and the importance of maintaining dependable local ambulance service.
Over the coming weeks, Buffalo EMS and Laverne EMS will explore topics such as:
· The true cost of providing emergency medical services.
· Why ambulance bills often do not cover the cost of care.
· What happens after an ambulance leaves Harper County.
· What happens from the moment you call 911 until the ambulance is ready for the next emergency.
· Why response times matter in medical emergencies.
· The advanced equipment carried on today's ambulances.
· Why protecting emergency medical services is an investment in Harper County's future.
We encourage every resident to read these articles, ask questions, attend community meetings, and become informed before voting on the proposal that will appear on the November ballot.
Together, we can help ensure that dependable emergency medical services remain available for the residents and visitors of Harper County for generations to come.
