Cascade Medical encourages voters to plan on a renewal of the EMS Levy

    Looking at the month of February, people can expect heart shaped candies, oversized teddy bears and arguably too much pink and red hues - but Upper Valley residents should also plan for an important levy on the February ballot. Six years has come to an end and so it's time for the renewal of the Cascade Medical Emergency Medical Service levy
    The Cascade Medical facility has an outward appearance of a ski lodge and inward, a homey atmosphere. With features like an indoor pool with an underwater treadmill, a future installment of a 3D mammogram machine and the first Lung Cancer Screen Center designated by the American College of Radiology on the east side, it's clear Cascade Medical is constantly ensuring the best for the community.
    But those piercing sirens and sometimes life saving staff don't have an endless fund to support the community, so the renewal of the Emergency Medical Service levy, which funnels into around 26% of the budget, is crucial for voters to be aware of.
    "I believe that the ambulance and emergency department are essential services that every community should have access to," said Diane Blake, Chief Executive Officer. "The levy provides enough funding to sustain those services."
    This isn't a new levy or even a tweak to the EMS levy, which has been around for roughly 30 years and renewing the levy will solely maintain the same services for the same rate. This is only ensuring the levy will be instilled for another six years. It will remain, if passed, 50 cents per $1,000 of accessed value, according to a Cascade Medical press release. This rate has remained static for over 15 years.
    "About 61% (of EMS funding) what we bill for patients we care, the levy provides about 26%. So without the levy, we'd have to find about $1.1 million just to keep those services going which is not feasible," said Blake.
    Services that are funded by the levy range from a wide scope of imperative elements such as staffing, which is the biggest cost, equipment, training and even fuel. Cascade Medical ambulances provide services from the summit of Blewett Pass to the summit of Steven's Pass, according to the press release. This envelopes Leavenworth, Peshastin, Lake Wenatchee and Dryden.
    "You can see some of the value of having a local emergency department and ambulance service with the conditions that we treat. The top three conditions we see in our emergency department are chest pain, upper respiratory infection and head injury. It really helps illustrate the seriousness that we see sometimes and the critical role that Cascade Medical plays in caring for our community," said Rachel Hansen, Cascade Medical Public Relations Coordinator.
    People can sometimes pause, squint and hesitate when a buzzword like taxes are in the fine print, but Cascade Medical does its best to keep taxpayers financial contribution at the minimum.
    "The last levy in 2012 passed with 82% approval, that level of support is not something we can take for granted. We understand the concerns about the tax burden. And just last year, 2017, we financed the bonds to build the remodel to save taxpayers over a million dollars. So we're trying to reduce the burden where we can," said Hansen.
    Ballots to vote on this levy will be mailed out January 24 for the February 12 election.