Northwest Iowa town has just one EMT left

SANBORN, Iowa (KTIV) - The city of Sanborn, Iowa, has just one EMT left.

That’s one emergency responder to attend to all of the heart attacks, car accidents and other medical emergencies.

Kaitlin Kribell is that one EMT. She’s an unpaid volunteer and the agency’s executive director.

She fears the city could lose its ambulance service altogether. That’s about 120 calls a year that would have to be picked up by another agency, increasing response times by 15 to 30 minutes.

Emergency crews from Primghar and Sheldon respond when she isn’t available.

Sanborn is looking for EMT volunteers, and the city will pay the fees for anyone who takes a qualifying class and volunteers with the department.

“I would say, you know, we sit here and say that we need help. And then people listen to it. And you know, they’re like, I think they process it, maybe not as much, but it is a real threat that we might not have an ambulance service anymore,” said Kribell.

Kribell is on call from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. She’s often driven to calls by her husband, a machinist, or volunteer firefighters if they’re available.

To contact the Sanborn Ambulance Service about volunteering, give them a call at 712-930-3470. Anyone who is a licensed nurse only needs to take a four-hour course to become an EMT, Kribell said.

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