Staffing situation improves for North Shore Health ambulance, more help needed

Joe Friedrichs | September 24, 2023

After a staffing shortage at the local hospital in Grand Marais last summer led to challenges in responding to emergency calls, including having the hospital administrator driving the ambulance, things have improved in recent months.

In May 2022, WTIP reported that Kimber Wraalstad, the hospital administrator at North Shore Health in Grand Marais, was driving the ambulance when medical staff were responding to emergency calls. That situation, Wraalstad maintains, was done out of necessity, but is something that’s not entirely unique to health care facilities across Minnesota that are also facing staffing shortages. Other hospital CEOs across the state are also stepping in and providing whatever services are needed to keep their medical facilities functioning, she said.

During the past 15 months, more people have been hired to work for the local ambulance service, which is based at North Shore Health. The current roster for the ambulance staff is about 25 people, according to officials at North Shore Health. Five of those are paramedics, and 12 are emergency medical technicians. Last May, there were only two paramedics on staff.

On a recent sunny September morning, WTIP’s Joe Friedrichs met several paramedics and staff from North Shore Health outside the local hospital. Among them was Karla Pankow, the EMS director at North Shore Health. Pankow said there is still a need for new hires and additional staff on the ambulance crew at North Shore Health, but that the situation has improved from last year. However, the number of calls being placed where an ambulance is required is also going up, Pankow, said.

“This time last year, we had 50 fewer calls,” she said. “We’re seeing an uptick of about 146 percent more volume in terms of the need out there in our community.”

To learn more about career opportunities at North Shore Health, click here.

Others interviewed in this report are North Shore Health employees who are on the ambulance crew, Ben Belland, Shalom Richardson, and Chris Thompson.

Listen to the full report in the audio below.