80% of Nebraska EMS agencies rely on volunteers to make sacrifice for rural communities

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) — A Hickman woman’s story of waiting for an ambulance during a medical emergency has put a spotlight on rural emergency medical services across Nebraska.

Ronicka Schottel suffered a miscarriage Aug. 12 and waited more than half an hour for an ambulance — all while her mother repeatedly called 911.

But it’s not just a Hickman problem — or even just a Nebraska problem. Like the pandemic highlighted, healthcare problems are exacerbated in rural areas.

A 2024 report from the state’s Department of Health and Human Services shows 80% of EMS agencies are staffed exclusively with volunteers.

That’s forcing agencies across the state to grapple with how to recruit and retain talent willing to serve and sacrifice their own personal time.

“When I first moved to Linwood after I got married, several of the volunteers had asked me to join and I never did,” said Linwood Fire Chief Joel Cerny. I thought I was too busy. Then we had a small fire in our yard, and it was racing up the hill towards my barn full of straw. Volunteers came and put it out before it got to the barn and saved my barn. So I thought if all them guys took time off of their day to come help me, I should help them.”

That was 40 years ago — and Joel Cerny has been a volunteer firefighter/EMT ever since — serving the last 25 years as chief.

Linwood is located in Butler County, Nebraska, a small town just south of the Platte River registering around 100 residents as of the 2020 census.

Cerny said people often move to rural communities like his without realizing there’s not someone sitting at the station 24/7.

Getting someone certified to work fires is fairly straightforward, but EMT certification requires a months-long class, 180 hours and a difficult national registry test.

A 2024 Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services report showed there’s about 6,300 EMT licenses in Nebraska, but that doesn’t mean they’re all active.

Cerny and Blair Volunteer Firefighter/EMT Brenda Jenny have both made the volunteer sacrifice, giving up events, holidays, work and sleep to make a difference in their communities.

“My dad was on the department as well,” Jenny said. “He was a 55-year member of the Blair Volunteer Fire Department, so I learned from the best.”

Jenny tries to make her dad proud, her heart for service born from years of watching her dad.

“It has to come from the heart,” she said of the struggle to find new volunteers. “You have to want to serve the community and serve your fellow neighbors. And in this day and age, I think everybody is time starved.”

Blair VFD has started a cadet program to try and get new recruits.

Hickman Fire Chief John Brady previously told 10/11 they have been working with Lincoln Fire and Rescue to try and get EMS technicians on a rotation in Hickman, getting them experience and potentially a small stipend to help the volunteer department have more coverage.

At their rural fire board meeting on Monday, Chief Brady also said the department has 11 new applicants, nine of whom are emergency medicine providers, and also just recently purchased three vehicles, one of which is a new ambulance.

10/11 Investigates will be looking at solutions in a story next week, including more on Schottel’s story and an in-depth look at one town in northern Kansas that is innovating to solve their shortage.

This is a complex story and only one part of a multi-part series. If you or someone you know has an experience with rural EMS in Nebraska, reach out to Darsha Dodge at Darsha.Dodge@1011now.com.

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