Intermountain Health to Provide 24/7 EMS Services to Eastern Yellowstone County Communities in Montana Through New Partnership
Intermountain Health has signed an agreement to provide 24/7 emergency medical services (EMS) to communities in the eastern part of Yellowstone County in Montana, including Worden and Shepherd, through a new partnership aimed at strengthening emergency response and improving access to lifesaving care.
The partnership includes Intermountain Health, Yellowstone County, the Shepherd Fire District, and the Worden Fire District. It is designed to address longstanding EMS coverage challenges in the area.
Under the new agreement, Intermountain Health will staff and operate a ground ambulance service based out of the Huntley Fire Station.
“This community partnership allows us to bring dependable, 24/7 EMS coverage to an area that has experienced gaps, while working side by side with local fire districts and county leaders,” said Tom Matthews, EMS clinical operations manager at Intermountain Health.
Planning for the service began after county leaders identified eastern Yellowstone County as an area of need for more timely and reliable EMS services and began exploring options to bridge coverage gaps.
Following months of evaluation and collaboration, the partners agreed on a model that leverages Intermountain Health’s clinical expertise and operational resources while maintaining strong local involvement.
“Our Yellowstone County Commissioners are proud to partner with Intermountain Health to provide EMS services in eastern Yellowstone County. Intermountain Health, the County, Worden and Shepherd Fire started working on this concept a year ago,” said Yellowstone County Commissioner Mark Morse. “This partnership provides timely, reliable ambulance service to county residents when they call 911. This model puts residents first.”
To provide the expanded service, Intermountain Health is hiring a team of five paramedics and five emergency medical technicians. In addition, Intermountain Health will also purchase two ambulances from the Worden Fire District.
The new EMS service is expected to go live on July 1.
Once operational, the service will provide primary 911 response and help reduce response times for emergencies across Yellowstone County. The agreement builds on Intermountain Health’s broader efforts to expand emergency and transport services across Montana, supporting rural communities.
In 2023, Intermountain Health launched a ground ambulance service based in Billings to transport patients between facilities in Montana and Wyoming.
The service helps meet a critical need that many rural healthcare organizations are experiencing due to stretched EMS resources in their local communities. Following the launch of the service, the Intermountain Health ground ambulance team began providing EMS support to the county. This new agreement formalizes the growing partnership.
“Our mission is to help people live the healthiest lives possible,” Matthews said. “Ensuring access to dependable emergency medical services is foundational to that mission, and we’re proud to work with our community partners to make this happen.”