KCCI EIGHT NEWS AT SIX STARTS RIGHT NOW. AT 82 YEARS OLD, MOST PEOPLE ARE SLOWING DOWN. THEY DESERVE TO. RIGHT? YES. BUT IN THE SMALL SOUTHWESTERN IOWA TOWN OF MALVERN, ONE WOMAN STILL HAS HER FOOT ON THE GAS PEDAL IN THE AMBULANCE, RESPONDING TO CALLS, SAVING LIVES AND COVERING DAY SHIFTS WHEN FEW OTHERS CAN. KCCI BEAU BOWMAN HAS HER INSPIRING STORY THAT RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT THE FUTURE OF EMS IN RURAL IOWA. DOVER MILLS FIRE AT THE MALVERN RESCUE CENTER. WHEN THE PAGER GOES OFF. 82 YEAR OLD LINDA SEIBOLD ANSWERS THE CALL. SHE STARTED HERE AS AN EMT IN 1981, AND 45 YEARS LATER SHE STILL BEHIND THE WHEEL. AFTER DOING THIS FOR SO LONG, HALF OF MY LIFE, IT’S JUST. IT’S JUST IN MY BLOOD. FOR LINDA AND 73 YEAR OLD ADVANCED EMT ZENITH WILBUR, THIS WORK WAS NEVER JUST A JOB. BOTH HAVE STORIES THAT HIT HARD. I WAS CALLING FOR HELP. HE WAS SCREAMING IN PAIN. ZENITH REMEMBERS THE MOMENT HER BROTHER COLLAPSED AT HOME AFTER AN INJURY AT SCHOOL. HE DIED WHEN ZENITH WAS JUST 16. WATCHING THOSE PEOPLE TAKE CARE OF MY BROTHER, I CAN STILL SEE THEIR FACES. I CAN STILL SEE THEIR MOVEMENTS. AND IT IT JUST MADE SUCH AN IMPACT. AND I JUST. I’VE ALWAYS FELT LIKE I CAN NEVER GIVE BACK ENOUGH. HER HEART MONITOR THAT WE USE. LINDA’S FAMILY FACED THEIR OWN UNCERTAINTY YEARS LATER WHEN HER SON WAS TRAPPED UNDER A COMBINE. EVERYBODY THAT WAS ON THE SQUAD KNEW IT WAS US, AND THEY CAME AND WE LIFEFLIGHTED HIM TO OMAHA AND HE’S WALKING AND TALKING AND FARMING TODAY. FOR BOTH WOMEN, SERVICE BECAME A WAY TO PAY IT FORWARD. BUT AFTER THE PRAYERS AND PROMISES IS A HARDER REALITY IN IOWA, EMS IS NOT AN ESSENTIAL SERVICE STATEWIDE. ACCORDING TO A 2025 REPORT FROM THE IOWA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES. ONLY 21 COUNTIES HAVE VOTED TO DECLARE EMS AN ESSENTIAL SERVICE. THAT MEANS MANY SMALL TOWNS LIKE MALVERN SURVIVE ON FUNDRAISERS. TOWNSHIP DOLLARS, GRANTS AND VOLUNTEERS. YOU CAN’T DO IT ON PANCAKE BREAKFAST OR SUPPERS. IT JUST. THE AMOUNT OF DOLLARS IT TAKES TO BUY AN AMBULANCE AND KEEP IT OUTFITTED WITH ALL THE EQUIPMENT. THAT’S NOT ENOUGH MONEY. JUST REPLACING ONE AMBULANCE. THE DUO SAYS IT WOULD COST ABOUT HALF $1 MILLION. THE FULL TRUCK AND EQUIPMENT EVEN MORE. BUT THE BIGGER PROBLEM YET STAFFING ALL DEPARTMENTS RIGHT NOW ARE FACING VOLUNTEERISM. PEOPLE ARE NOT STEPPING UP. THE 2025 HHS REPORT SAYS. OF THE 724 SERVICE PROGRAMS IN IOWA, MORE THAN 70% RELY ON VOLUNTEER STAFFING. MALVERN HAS TEN VOLUNTEERS, AND MOST WORK OUT OF TOWN, WHICH MEANS DURING BUSINESS HOURS, LINDA AND ZENITH ARE OFTEN THE ONES HOLDING COVERAGE TOGETHER. FOR ABOUT HALF OF MILLS COUNTY. IN A SMALL COMMUNITY, YOU KNOW WHEN YOU WANT TO CALL, YOU’RE PROBABLY GOING TO KNOW THAT PERSON AND IT’S. YOU JUST HAVE TO SUCK IT UP AND DO WHAT YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO DO. AND MAYBE COLLAPSE LATER. LINDA KEEPS PUSHING BACK THE DAY SHE TURNS OFF HER PAGER. SHE SEES RETIREMENT AS TWO FLASHING LIGHTS, RED AND BLUE. CONCERNED FOR THE FUTURE OF EMS IN IOWA AND THE THOUGHT OF STEPPING AWAY FROM THE SERVICE THAT’S TURNED INTO A PASSION. I KNOW IT’S GOING TO BE A SAD DAY WHEN I WALK OUT THERE AND TURN MY KEY IN, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, EVERY TIME I GO AND SEE THE AMBULANCE GO, THEN I KNOW I KNOW WHAT THEY HAVE TO DO, AND IT’S JUST IT’LL BE HARD. LINDA HOPES VOLUNTEER NUMBERS SEE A BOOST SOON, AND SOMEONE STEPS IN TO FILL HER SHOES, BUT SHE SAYS SHE WILL STILL TAK
At 82, Linda Seipold is still answering the pager at an Iowa rescue center, where she has served as an EMT since 1981.For Seipold and 73-year-old Advanced EMT Zennith Wilber, the work is personal. Wilber said a childhood tragedy shaped her commitment to EMS, while Seipold said her family’s experience with a farm accident reinforced the importance of the service.In rural Iowa, though, that service faces mounting pressure. EMS is not considered an essential service statewide, and a 2025 Iowa Department of Health and Human Services report says only 21 counties have voted to declare it essential. Many departments rely on fundraisers, township dollars, grants and volunteers.Seipold said that model is not sustainable.”You can’t do it on pancake breakfasts or suppers. It’s just the amount of dollars it takes to buy an ambulance and keep it outfitted with all the equipment … that’s not enough money,” she said.The report says more than 70% of Iowa’s 724 EMS programs rely on volunteer staffing. In Malvern, 10 volunteers help cover calls. But Monday through Friday, most of them work outside of town, leaving Seipold and Wilber to help hold daytime coverage together for much of Mills County.”All departments right now are facing volunteerism. People are not stepping up,” Seipold said.As for retirement, Seipold said she knows the day will be emotional.”I know it’s going to be a sad day when I walk out there and turn my key because, you know, every time I go and see the ambulance go, then I know, I know what they have to do. And it’s just — it’ll be hard,” she said.Seipold hopes more volunteers step forward soon, but says she will always take pride in seeing the ambulance head out on a call.
At 82, Linda Seipold is still answering the pager at an Iowa rescue center, where she has served as an EMT since 1981.
For Seipold and 73-year-old Advanced EMT Zennith Wilber, the work is personal. Wilber said a childhood tragedy shaped her commitment to EMS, while Seipold said her family’s experience with a farm accident reinforced the importance of the service.
In rural Iowa, though, that service faces mounting pressure. EMS is not considered an essential service statewide, and a 2025 Iowa Department of Health and Human Services report says only 21 counties have voted to declare it essential. Many departments rely on fundraisers, township dollars, grants and volunteers.
Seipold said that model is not sustainable.
“You can’t do it on pancake breakfasts or suppers. It’s just the amount of dollars it takes to buy an ambulance and keep it outfitted with all the equipment … that’s not enough money,” she said.
The report says more than 70% of Iowa’s 724 EMS programs rely on volunteer staffing. In Malvern, 10 volunteers help cover calls. But Monday through Friday, most of them work outside of town, leaving Seipold and Wilber to help hold daytime coverage together for much of Mills County.
“All departments right now are facing volunteerism. People are not stepping up,” Seipold said.
As for retirement, Seipold said she knows the day will be emotional.
“I know it’s going to be a sad day when I walk out there and turn my key because, you know, every time I go and see the ambulance go, then I know, I know what they have to do. And it’s just — it’ll be hard,” she said.
Seipold hopes more volunteers step forward soon, but says she will always take pride in seeing the ambulance head out on a call.
