Jackson County Emergency Medical Services had another record-breaking year in 2018 as ambulance crews responded to more than 7,000 calls.

Director Dennis Brasher said 2017’s 6,335 calls was a record for the department, but 2018 outpaced it by 13 percent with 7,165 runs.

He said about 80 percent of the runs are made in the Seymour area.

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“That’s just under 20 a day,” he said. “It’s crazy.”

The increase has officials considering putting an additional staffed ambulance in service. The department employs 36 people, including 29 full-time staffers.

“That’s just a preliminary plan,” Brasher said.

About nine or so are needed to staff each shift. They work 24 hours on and 48 off, which is how the Seymour Fire Department crews work.

The ambulance service has two stations in Seymour and one in each Brownstown and Crothersville.

Jackson County Councilman Dave Hall, who is the council’s representative for the ambulance service, said the work the department does is vital, which should be considered when looking at their needs.

“Our EMS provides an extremely important service to the community, and I will continue to work closely with Dennis to make sure their needs are balanced with the money that is available,” he said.

The increase in runs also has Brasher paying closer attention to the amount of rest his staff gets. Over the course of 2018, he noticed how busy the department was, and each month’s report showed the volume was going to outpace the previous record.

With that many runs, it’s a physically taxing job, he said.

“Sometimes, we don’t get any sleep at all,” Brasher said. “I’ve told them to get into our bunk room if they need a nap because it might be the only rest they get during a shift.”

But why are runs increasing so much?

Brasher said that is unclear, but he has one theory.

“I think the mean age of people is getting older,” he said. “There are more baby boomers — like me — who are in our 60s, and when you get older, you have more health care needs.”

A few of the statistics from 2018 lends itself to that belief, including 388 reports of chest pain, 320 shortness of breath, 94 dead on arrival, 74 head injuries, 57 heart attacks and 69 acute pain.

The opioid crisis, which has its grip on communities across the nation, also has played a significant role.

Brasher said 2018 was a record year for overdose calls to the department, nearly doubling those from 2017.

That year, the department responded to 120 overdoses. In 2018, the department responded to 238.

“That’s a record, too,” he said.

Brasher said he has been told overdoses were on decline across the state, but that has not been the case here. It was certainly on display in April when the department responded to more than one a day for a total of 34 during that month.

That’s also more than triple the lowest figure the last two years when three overdoses were reported in December 2017.

“Sometimes, there’s lighter months, but the other months were so busy,” Brasher said.

The lowest figure in 2018 was 10 in January. Each month in 2018, overdoses were in double digits, compared to 2017 when there were five months where fewer than 10 were reported.

The department had 240 doses of Narcan for 2017 but didn’t use all of them. The department will get 120 this year and is able to use those that have yet to expire.

Brasher said it can be frustrating for staff members who respond to the same patient multiple times.

“We have had some patients who we have taken to the hospital, then they will get released and we have to go back and get them again a second time just a few hours later,” he said. “I think that’s frustrating that something isn’t being done.”

There’s also a wide spectrum of calls for overdoses, Brasher said. He said sometimes, there are people who have not overdosed, and then other times when a young person has already died when first responders get there.

“I think that’s tough on the staff,” he said.

Mental health also has played a part in the increase.

There were 116 suicidal thoughts and 27 suicide attempts in 2018, so it is something EMS personnel deal with on a somewhat regular basis.

“We see a lot of those,” he said.

Many of those patients are taken to mental health facilities by the ambulance. Brasher said that takes a lot of time because Jackson County does not have facilities nearby, and any of the close ones are often full, too.

“We have to go to Bloomington a lot,” he said. “We recently had to take someone to Terre Haute at 2 in the morning.”

All of those issues have played a role in the stress of workers, and it’s one reason why Brasher knows finding additional help could be difficult.

Only certain people can handle the pressure of the job, the emotional toll and other issues.

“You really have to be cut out for this kind of work,” he said. “This is how it is everywhere.”

But the department is in a much better position than it was a few years ago when wages were lower and turnover was high.

There was a long-term plan established about four years ago when compensation was increased to make wages more competitive.

“There was a bunch of turnover before then,” he said. “We still have some, but it’s much more manageable.”

The department also saw an improvement in 2018 when the former Indiana State Police post on Tipton Street was partially converted into a station.

That helped give the department a presence on the east side of the Louisville and Indiana and CSX railroads.

“It’s been great because of the trains,” he said.

Brasher said it isn’t a fool-proof solution, as the ambulance still can get stopped by a train, but it’s better than before.

“At least our response time is better, and if there is a train, we are able to provide them with care,” he said.

Schneck Medical Center owns the building and the rehabilitation for the department, Brasher said. The hospital also has committed funds to purchase ambulances over the next three years.

It will cost $250,000 per year the next three years. Instead of purchasing new ambulances, the department is looking at doing what is called a “remount,” where companies take the box of an existing ambulance and put it on a new chassis and add in a new engine. It’s a process the department used when an ambulance it had was involved in a wreck and caught fire more than a year ago.

“They completely refurbish the box, and it saves money, so we are looking at getting one in the spring and the fall,” he said.

Hall said the funds have helped put the county in a better position.

“The commitment from Schneck to purchase ambulances for the next three years and donate them to Jackson County EMS has been a huge help and has lessened the burden on taxpayers,” he said.

The department puts about 250,000 miles on its ambulances each year, Brasher said.

“As many miles as we put on them, it’s a good win for us,” he said.