Buncombe County EMS to receive $282,103 from statewide grant program

Buncombe County Emergency Services is set to receive $282,103 from a new statewide EMS grant program, money county leaders want to direct toward addiction and behavioral health services in rural parts of the county. The practical payoff for residents is supposed to be less strain on ambulances and crews, more peer support and clinician help, and a better chance that people in crisis get the right care without tying up a 911 unit.

Gov. Josh Stein announced the program Monday, June 8, and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services said it will distribute $10 million to 39 local EMS agencies through the NC Rural Health Transformation Program. State officials said the money, awarded through the Office of Emergency Medical Services for Mobile Integrated Health, is meant to strengthen the EMS workforce and expand rural access to mental health and substance-use-disorder treatment and services. NCDHHS also cited 2021 data showing rural North Carolinians had higher rates of fatal drug overdoses and overdose-related emergency department visits than urban residents.

Buncombe County’s share is smaller than the overall pot, but county leaders see it as a staffing and service boost, not just another budget line. The funding opportunity was limited to licensed North Carolina EMS agencies that provide primary 911 response, with applications due May 20, award notices issued June 1, and an anticipated contract period running from July 1, 2026, through Oct. 30, 2027. County commissioners still must approve Buncombe’s use of the money before it can be put into action.

Van Taylor Jones, Buncombe County’s emergency services director, said the grant could support peer support counseling and clinicians. The county already works with Umoja Health, Wellness and Justice Collective on peer support, a partnership centered on trauma-informed care and culturally specific healing and prevention work. Jones has tied the need to the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, when behavioral health and addiction-related needs became harder for frontline crews to absorb on their own.

Buncombe County Emergency Services says it operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and the grant arrives as the county continues to expand community paramedicine and additional EMS bases. For a county where long travel distances, rural roads and overlapping medical and behavioral health needs can slow response, the money is aimed at helping crews spend more time on true emergencies and less time acting as a catch-all for needs that require a different kind of intervention.