Pendleton County One Ambulance Away from Disaster

If you live in Pendleton County and call 911 right now, you might want to pray your emergency gets in line first.

Because if it doesn’t, your ambulance will come from another county. The only ALS ambulance we can afford to run is probably on a call.

This is not an exaggeration. It’s not a fluke. It’s happening repeatedly and again. Pendleton County EMS has funding and staffing shortages.

We Pay for It. We Don’t Get It.

Pendleton County has a dedicated ambulance taxing district. That means we pay a separate property tax just for EMS coverage, not general funds, not police, not fire, just ambulances.

That special tax was created in 2009, signed into law by our Fiscal Court, with the full intent of providing full time ALS coverage. The ordinance was clear. The county would collect taxes starting January 1, 2010, begin contract negotiations for in house service by August, and start full ambulance operations by November.

But here we are in 2026, and we’re still failing at the basics.

One Ambulance on the Road

Multiple county residents have confirmed what the scanner already makes clear:

“If I call 911 right now, it’ll come from another county. The one county ambulance is already on a run.”
— Community Whisper

Yesterday, on a holiday, with families gathered and roads busy, we had one ambulance covering the entire county. A crew from Peach Grove had to make a run all the way to Berry. That’s not coverage. That’s a hope and a prayer.

Same Problem, Different Excuse

The last time this happened, it was all over the news. Budget shortfalls. State involvement. One ambulance. Sound familiar?

“We pay an extra tax just for the ambulance and yet are not receiving the services. Last time this happened it was due to budget and was all over the news that they were dropping to one ambulance. Even the state got involved. I hear now that it is due to staffing because no one wants to work there.”
— Community source

They say it’s a staffing issue now. Just like it was when Klaber was Chief of Falmouth Fire. Rules for thee, not for me. We’ve heard this song before.

Thirty Minutes to Butler

“My mom lives in Butler. She fell and had to call 911. It took 30 minutes for the ambulance to get there. Thank God she wasn’t having a heart attack.”
— Community Whisper

Thirty minutes. Do you know how many things a body can do in thirty minutes? Bleed out. Seize. Suffocate. Die.

Thankfully, she had fallen and only had a broken arm and was badly bruised.

A resident falling in Butler should not have to wait longer than a pizza delivery. This isn’t just inadequate. It’s criminal negligence.

Even the State Had to Step In

To fully grasp how bad things have gotten statewide and how Pendleton County fits into this larger collapse, you have to understand what the state of Kentucky had to do just to keep ambulances legally operating.

The Emergency Waiver of 202 KAR 7560

Due to acute staffing shortages, Kentucky issued an emergency modification of EMS regulations.

Driver Requirements were relaxed. At first, anyone with CPR certification and an emergency vehicle operator’s course could drive. Later, the bar was raised slightly to require at least an Emergency Medical Responder, not even an EMT.

ALS Staffing Waivers allowed agencies to operate an ALS unit with just an Advanced EMT or a paramedic. Normally, full paramedic staffing would be required.

Expiration Date: These temporary waivers are set to expire December 31, 2026.

Quarterly Reporting: Any agency using the waiver must report every three months to the state Board to show they are actively recruiting and hiring.

These waivers were pushed by the Kentucky County Judge Executive Association as a lifeline for rural and small counties like Pendleton, because without it, agencies like ours would have been forced to downgrade to Basic Life Support or shut down entirely.

The Numbers Don’t Lie

Pendleton County has two Advanced Life Support ambulances. That’s it. But due to a shortfall, only one can run during large parts of the day. The other just sits.

And by the way, the tax? We’re already taxed at the legal maximum. The county can’t raise the rate unless the legislature changes the law. Even if residents wanted to pay more to fix the issue, they aren’t allowed to.

According to Pendleton County’s 2025 to 2026 Fiscal Budget, only four hundred thousand dollars, about two point eight percent of the general fund, is allocated to ambulance services.

This line item must fund the entirety of EMS response, despite the fact that even a single ambulance unit with full time paramedics can exceed that figure in operating costs.

Meanwhile, fire services, law enforcement upgrades, and economic development collectively receive several times more funding.

Yet no one calls tourism grants when their mother is dying.

Ambulance Board Members

• Ben Wolf

• Cindy Brown

• Gina Adams

• Patty Miles

• Joanna Crouch

• Joe Cottingham (PCATD Attorney)

This Isn’t the End

This whole series on Pendleton County Emergency Services is about bringing these discussions out in the open.

These deep dives are meant to inform and inspire real conversations. The story of our Emergency Services is not only about budgets and limitations. There are some truly amazing people who give their time and attention to saving lives every day.

This is critical care that for some never comes soon enough.

The time delays and short staffing should never take away from the hard work and dedication of those that do this thankless job. At the same time, they are often fighting a losing battle against scheduling and budget limitations.

To compound these issues, public officials seem to overlook some of these critical life saving services in favor of pet projects. Worse yet, infighting and budget mishandling can create issues that compound and have lasting effects for years.

We Are Often Accused of Not Offering Solutions

And I will admit, it is difficult in this case to provide more than the information and reporting.

But I can confidently say this.

This is an election year. And that means there is an opportunity to finally inspire change in Pendleton County EMS and other critical departments.

It will take fiscal responsibility. It will take out of the box thinking. But it can be done.

If you have any experiences with Pendleton County EMS, whispers or ideas, please comment or send us a message.

Whisper One Out.