Bonner County Ambulance District accepts $30,000 grant to fund summer paramedic coverage in Hope, Clark Fork
June 17, 2026 | Bonner County, Idaho
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The Bonner County Ambulance Service District voted to accept a $30,000 grant from the Sam Owen Firefighters Foundation to fund summer paramedic staffing in the Hope and Clark Fork area.
The board’s chair moved to accept the grant during the June 17 meeting; the motion was seconded and approved by roll call. The grant will fund a paramedic deployment intended to run roughly from July 1 through just after Labor Day, with staffing targeted at about 90% of scheduled shifts and allowance for occasional brown-outs if the district lacks personnel.
The presenter described the impetus for the grant as a prior summer deployment in which a stationed paramedic, responding quickly with an AED and advanced life support, helped save a patient’s life at a campground. “They said, you know what we can do — we can give you $30,000 if that will help staff this paramedic out in the area,” the presenter said, describing the Foundation’s offer and the district’s acceptance of that support.
District staff said they plan to limit overtime costs by recruiting part-time EMTs to backfill shifts rather than covering every shift with overtime. The presenter said covering every shift with overtime would have been roughly $40,000–$50,000 but that, by using part-time backfill, the district expects net additional costs to be close to the Foundation’s $30,000 contribution.
A commissioner cautioned that exact district costs remain uncertain and that the district may absorb some costs beyond the grant amount depending on staffing shifts and system-status management. Board members were told that Chief Brinkmire handles scheduling and can shift resources seasonally to reduce overlap, and that two part-time EMTs had recently been cleared by Dr. Jenkins and were being scheduled.
The board approved the motion to accept the grant with no public comment. The district said it will track actual costs during the deployment and evaluate whether to seek similar community funding in future seasons.
The board recorded no formal amendment to grant terms other than the staffing expectations explained in the meeting. The grant acceptance was the principal substantive action on ambulance staffing at the meeting; next steps include operationalizing the schedule and monitoring cost impacts for future budgeting decisions.
The board’s chair moved to accept the grant during the June 17 meeting; the motion was seconded and approved by roll call. The grant will fund a paramedic deployment intended to run roughly from July 1 through just after Labor Day, with staffing targeted at about 90% of scheduled shifts and allowance for occasional brown-outs if the district lacks personnel.
The presenter described the impetus for the grant as a prior summer deployment in which a stationed paramedic, responding quickly with an AED and advanced life support, helped save a patient’s life at a campground. “They said, you know what we can do — we can give you $30,000 if that will help staff this paramedic out in the area,” the presenter said, describing the Foundation’s offer and the district’s acceptance of that support.
District staff said they plan to limit overtime costs by recruiting part-time EMTs to backfill shifts rather than covering every shift with overtime. The presenter said covering every shift with overtime would have been roughly $40,000–$50,000 but that, by using part-time backfill, the district expects net additional costs to be close to the Foundation’s $30,000 contribution.
A commissioner cautioned that exact district costs remain uncertain and that the district may absorb some costs beyond the grant amount depending on staffing shifts and system-status management. Board members were told that Chief Brinkmire handles scheduling and can shift resources seasonally to reduce overlap, and that two part-time EMTs had recently been cleared by Dr. Jenkins and were being scheduled.
The board approved the motion to accept the grant with no public comment. The district said it will track actual costs during the deployment and evaluate whether to seek similar community funding in future seasons.
The board recorded no formal amendment to grant terms other than the staffing expectations explained in the meeting. The grant acceptance was the principal substantive action on ambulance staffing at the meeting; next steps include operationalizing the schedule and monitoring cost impacts for future budgeting decisions.
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