About LREMS
Lakes Region EMS is an Advanced Life Support (ALS) ambulance service located just northeast of the Twin Cities metropolitan area. We have five bases: Rush City, North Branch, and Lindstrom in Minnesota, and St. Croix Falls and Milltown in Wisconsin, covering a total area of approximately 650 square miles between the two states. In 2023, Lakes Region EMS responded to over 9,600 calls for service and treated more than 7,000 patients.
We take great pride in our ability to deliver Advanced Life Support (ALS) care to our community. Our ambulances are staffed with highly trained Paramedics and EMTs equipped to provide emergency treatment for traumatic injuries and sudden illnesses. With our advanced skills and equipment, we bring the capabilities of an Emergency Room directly to the patient. We also provide Critical Care services, offering an expanded scope of practice similar to that of a hospital ICU. This ensures our patients receive timely and advanced care, improving their chances of recovery and survival.
FAQ’s
Is the staff paid or volunteer?
All of our staff are paid career employees. We have roughly 80 people on our roster and about half of those make Lakes Region EMS their full time occupation.
How long are the shifts?
Shifts are 12 hours. They start at 6:00am and 6:00pm. Many of our staff work two 12 hour shifts in a row and work a straight 24 hours.
What do the Paramedics and EMTs do when they are not on a call?
There are a number of things we do during the day. Each shift starts with an equipment check. The ambulance and all of the equipment gets checked every shift. In an emergency, everything must work right every time. The remainder of the shift might be taken up with training, housekeeping, or public education events. If there is downtime they may watch TV, sleep, or even go shopping in the community.
Why do I see ambulances parked in various locations around the communities and not at their stations?
There are usually 5 crews covering our area. If one crew is out on a call, another crew moves to a location generally half way in between the two areas. This allows us to cover the most area with limited resources. Other times neighboring services need help covering their area. Some of the locations you might see us doing this is along County Road 22 and US Highway 8 or the Fire Station located in Stacy.
