By Stephen Smoot
During the Pendleton County Commission meeting last week, Jamie Hudson of Pendleton Community Care came to discuss with commissioners, emergency management, and Pendleton County Emergency Rescue officials the response in the North Fork Valley.
Hudson explained first and foremost that “this is not anything on the rescue squad in Pendleton County.” She expressed understanding of the constricting resources and stated “they can only do with what they have.”
She described an August incident in which an individual with a life-threatening condition called 911 and faced delays in response while telecommunicators continued to call out for service. Rick Gillespie, Pendleton County Emergency Services coordinator, confirmed that “911 called 14 different iterations.”
Hudson then stated that a neighbor drove the patient to the North Fork branch of Pendleton Community Care. They tended to the individual as best they could until an ambulance arrived from Sugar Grove, a driving distance of about an hour in normal conditions.
No one else close was able to respond. Hudson stated that “we’ve got to be able to figure out something else.”
She then added that the clinic in Riverton lacks the resources to handle emergencies, stating that only one provider is usually in the facility at any time. That individual has to depart from regular responsibilities to patients when an emergency comes in. Also, they are “not trained for emergency response.”
Gillespie stated that “911 did everything it’s supposed to do 14 times” and posed the question “at what point does that trigger a request to Grant County.”
That said, Gillespie had also shared that some in Grant County oppose aid to Pendleton County altogether.
“We have to educate our public,” stated Mike Alt, training officer for Pendleton County Emergency Rescue. He noted a number of situations that create issues for response.
He opened by saying, “We treat every call at 911, as life-threatening” even if the request is to move an immobile person within their home. Alt explained that while the patient awaited response on North Fork, “we got two calls in Moyers Gap back to back” which occupied resources.
Alt also reminded all that the State of West Virginia “thinks one ambulance for 6,000 is sufficient. We have to have a minimum of three.” Alt referred to guidelines from state agencies about resources per capita that do not always recognize the reality of sparsely populated counties where residents are spread out.
Another issue lies in patient requests to go to specific hospitals for a variety of reasons, including Augusta Health in Virginia which is much farther away than other options for Pendleton County. Farther transports occupy ambulances and crews for longer periods and can affect both response times and coverage.
Additionally, some request transport to facilities in Elkins when WVU Medicine/Grant Memorial Hospital is closer to almost any area in Pendleton County. Also, Sentara in Harrisonburg, Virginia, has dropped some services, such as pediatric medicine and trauma care. Many may not be aware of that, yet continue to think that their child can get access to that specialization there after emergency transport.
Officials then discussed issues surrounding relevant regulations and also liability that the clinic and PCER must follow to protect themselves in certain situations. “The days of just being to help are gone,” lamented Alt.
Hevener, commission president, weighed in and explained how the county stepped up to fill a gap in funding for volunteer stipends. The West Virginia State Legislature had passed a salary enhancement fund to help local EMS provide incentives for volunteers by raising their stipends.
It funded the program in 2024, but not 2025. Pendleton County provided the funds to last through the end of this year. When in Franklin last month, Governor Patrick Morrisey stated that they wanted a permanent solution to that problem and not one that could end and leave the counties struggling to provide service.
Hevener echoed concerns that Alt had expressed earlier, that the county lacked a level of economic development and tax base to help it to sustain these services. He and Alt both stated that Pendleton County needs to attract what development it can get to help to pay for its basic needs.
Alt stated that once EMS got what it needed, the county still needed to address the financial needs of the fire services, and school system, all of which see growing costs associated with equipment, personnel, and insurance.
“I know that’s not what you want to hear,” Hevener shared with some of the public who had gathered for the meeting for general interest purposes.
Hevener also added that “I will not go for a levy,” explaining that even if the voters passed one, they could vote it down in five years and leave emergency services at worse than square one. He explained that the commission would make the decision best for the people of the county, even if it risked voter backlash.
Dahmer agreed, saying that it’s got to be a steady stream of revenue” supporting the services, “not just one pot of money.”
Most in the room agreed that a proposed state park for the county in the past, blocked in part by some local opponents, would have created the kind of development that could help to pay for county needs.
