On Friday, the Kentucky Board of Emergency Medical Services met with the public to discuss some of the issues concerning emergency medical services coverage in rural counties like Lawrence, Pike, Floyd, Martin and Johnson.

The meeting was the last of four regional forums held across the state by the EMS board, which was formed last year by House Bill 405.

``We are here to find out your concerns, input and suggestions you have for improving the service," said Mark Bailey, EMS board chairman. ``We want to hear what you have to say. What may work for EMTs in Frankfort probably won't work for EMTs in this area."

Bailey said one of the biggest issues in rural Kentucky is response time — the length of time it takes for an ambulance to respond to a call.

The state mandates that a crew has to be en route to a scene within five minutes of the initial emergency call. Within 30 minutes, crew members are expected to be administering medical attention.

Many people at Friday's meeting said local ambulances are not meeting that requirement.

``It's (response time) a real problem," said Johnson County Judge-Executive Tucker Daniel. ``I realize that many ambulance companies cover other counties, but that doesn't mean that the community should have to wait in potentially life-threatening situations."

He said First Response Ambulance Service, which is owned by a parent company that provides services in four other counties in the region, may have to come from Floyd or Lawrence counties to answer a call in Johnson.

``They leave the county all the time to take care of other calls in other counties," Daniel said as he addressed the board. ``Sometimes they leave and don't even let the dispatchers know."

According to Bailey, the EMS regulations state that a county-licensed ambulance must be present at all times in the county.

Johnson County is not the only county to have problems with response times.

Lawrence County Magistrate Gary Nelson said Life Star, Lawrence County's only ambulance service, regularly takes more than 30 minutes to get to a scene.

``I know from personal experience that it takes them a long time and sometimes they can't even find the right address," Nelson said, as he brandished a 911 tape which he claimed showed that the service took 32 minutes to get to a heart attack victim.

He said the county ``deserves better ambulance service than it is getting."

According to Gina Tarver, an office manager for Life Star, the service has only exceeded the expected response time five times this year — it has answered 175 calls in all.

Other topics discussed at Friday's meeting included stiffer penalties for those who violate EMS regulations and the need for more frequent and unannounced ambulance service inspections.

EMS board member James Ritchie said the region is in need of ``some major assistance." He called for all of the region's judge-executives to fight for an EMS field office in Eastern Kentucky.

``I think we need to go straight to the governor on this one," Ritchie said. ``We need an office in here so we can get some inspectors and investigators in here."

If local people don't make their voices heard in Frankfort, Ritchie said, other regions of the state will get the EMS offices.