A new program aimed at improving medical response times in rural areas launched in northern St. Louis County on Monday.
Sprint Medic is a pilot program funded through the rural emergency medical services aid package approved by the Minnesota Legislature in 2024.
Partners in the program include the Virginia Fire Department, Cook Ambulance, Orr Ambulance, Tower Ambulance, Bois Forte and St. Louis County.
As part of the program, paramedics from the Virginia Fire Department will serve as Sprint Medics.
Two Sprint Medics will work Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., with one positioned in the Tower area and the other in the Cook, Orr, Boise Forte area.
Each Sprint Medic will drive an SUV equipped with Advanced Life Support equipment such as cardiac monitors, ventilators, and certain medications.
Their role will be to roam the service area, ready to respond to emergency calls immediately, while the partnering primary ambulance service travels to the scene in an ambulance.
The Sprint Medic also would be able to climb into the responding ambulance to continue providing care all the way to the hospital.
As with all emergency responders in the county, Sprint Medics’ response will be coordinated through St. Louis County 9-1-1.
“Our paramedics are excited to be part of this pilot program to provide a higher level of care for residents in remote areas,” said Erik Jonassen, Deputy Fire Chief in Virginia.
“At the same time, I want to assure residents of Virginia that our participation will not affect our service within the city, and all costs are covered by the State of Minnesota.”
The state has allocated a total of $2.7 million to fund the Sprint Medic pilot program through June of 2027 in St. Louis County.
The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office serves as fiscal agent for the program. Similar funding also was provided for a similar pilot program serving Otter Tail and Grant Counties.
