Good Neighbors EMS equips five county regional response teams

With a heart for helping people, the Good Neighbors EMS Fund, a non-profit organization in Little Falls, provides first responders in the five-county region — Cass, Crow Wing, Todd, Morrison, and Wadena counties — with updated medical equipment. Not only is the equipment necessary, but it allows the first responders to better handle the calls they receive, said Board Member and Camp Ripley Fire Chief Pat Boone.

   The idea to start Good Neighbors EMS Fund began with Dr. Mark Moe, an internal medicine physician at CHI St. Gabriel’s Health and the current medical director for Morrison County Medical Services. He noticed many first response teams didn’t have access to the equipment they needed.

   “For the most part, there’s dollars for training. You could get trained here and there and a lot of that networking,” Moe said. “But there was never really any money for equipment.”

   For first responders to have a medical bag in their personal vehicle can make a huge difference in another person’s life. For instance, Moe said, sometimes first responders may need to respond with nothing in their vehicle. Other times, they may have to first drive to the location where their team stores their equipment, and then go to the location.

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