Before last summer, the nearest ambulance service to the Fort McDermitt Paiute-Shoshone Reservation in Malheur County was 74 miles away. That meant if tribal members needed emergency medical care, they’d experience long response times and then have to pay large ambulance bills. But in June 2020, Ron Eagleye Johnny started the Fort McDermitt Tribe EMS Rescue, a government-funded service that is located on the reservation. It also serves people in the surrounding area. Johnny joins us to talk about providing emergency medical services in rural Oregon.
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