New director takes the helm at Dodge Center Ambulance

In this third week as director of the Dodge Center Ambulance Service, Jared Oscarson was settling into his new position with enthusiasm.

“I can’t say enough about the volunteers, full-time and part-time staff of this service,” he said. “I’m impressed with the professionalism, integrity and dedication to the community.”

Oscarson comes to Dodge Center from Nevada. He was born and reared in Las Vegas and began his career as the Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) while he was still in high school. His high school, he said, offered an EMT program as part of the curriculum. It was listed as a science class, he said, and looked interesting. Completing the course, he became a volunteer EMT at the age of 16.

Soon he was a full-time EMT with AMR in Las Vegas, a position he held for almost two years.  Then it was off to Rural Metro in Seattle, he said, where he also worked in a pediatric trauma center at a technician and worked in the emergency room with the doctors.

He became a paramedic in 2007 and in 2008 moved back to Nevada to work with Remsa in Reno where he was a paramedic on fixed wing aircraft and also the base manager.

He comes to Dodge Center from Humboldt General Hospital in Winnemucca, Nevada where he was clinical coordinator for the EMS Service.

During his four years at Humboldt General, he said, the service grew from nine employees to 63, including the volunteers. Winnemucca, he said, is 200 miles east of Las Vegas and Humboldt General is a rural hospital with many of the patients requiring transport to a larger, tertiary care facility for treatment.

During his years at Humboldt, he said, he completed a national program for ambulance managers and also was involved in getting legislation related to Emergency Medical Services through the state legislature.

“We have to practice at the highest level to provide the best care,” Oscarson said of an emergency medical services. “I’m extremely passionate about that.”

Health care is a rapidly changing landscape, he said, and one of the challenges is to look at where ambulances services fit into it.

Somewhere in the mix, he said, is increasing the health of the population while decreasing the cost of medical care, improving the patient experience while maintaining readiness.

For the Dodge Center Ambulance Service, Oscarson’s goals are to move an already high quality service to the next level.

“My focus here,” he said, “is a sustainable model that integrates into an already successful healthcare system.”

He said he wasn’t specifically looking to move on when a note popped up in his email indicating Dodge Center was looking for a new director. He talked about it with his wife, who also was a paramedic, and decided to look into it further.

He said when he came to Dodge Center in June he spent several days in the area, met the crews, City Manager Lee Mattson, Mayor Bill Ketchum, Finance Director Julie Beth and members of the community.

“II noticed the support from the city, county, community,” he said. “That was the first thing that caught our attention.”

As a manager, he said, he values and believes in focusing on employee well-being, fiscal stability, excellent patient care, and