Whitley EMS discusses plans to overcome EMT shortage

Whitley County EMS is hoping that a new program to train emergency medical responders will help with a manpower shortage in our area.

Whitley County EMS Director Kelly Harrison told the Whitley County UNITE Coalition during a meeting Monday afternoon at the Whitley County Health Department that local Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) are in short supply in our area.

The new Emergency Medical Responders (EMR) will have training that is a grade below that of an EMT, and will require 40 – 60 hours of training, depending on how the instructors structure the class. Students must already have completed a CPR class before undergoing the training.

“It is a step a little bit down from an EMT. Basically, they will be giving assistance to the Emergency Medical Technicians and they will be driving the ambulances,” Harrison said. “We are trying to do this to have more ambulances on the road. EMTs in our area are short. We have to go outside Williamsburg, Whitley County to get EMTs.”

Whitley County UNITE Coalition Chairwoman Amber Owens noted that having a lack of EMTs and paramedics from Whitley County has delayed response times somewhat due largely to the fact that out of town medics are not familiar with local roads.

“We are hoping this program will alleviate that,” Owens added.

Harrison said there are multiple reasons for a lack of EMTs and paramedics from our area.

Many times, EMTs decided after they get into the business that the blood and guts isn’t for them.

Other times, EMTs and paramedics will transfer to other surrounding counties for various reasons.

Some leave hoping for better pay. Others leave hoping to find an ambulance service that won’t be as busy as Whitley County EMS.

“Everybody – Laurel, Knox, Whitley, McCreary – we are all just trading EMT’s and paramedics back and forth,” Harrison said.

Harrison said that ambulance crews at her service have been running “non-stop” as of late.

Starting about 7 a.m. Saturday until about 6 p.m. Sunday, EMS crews had been on about 36 runs for various reasons.

Between Jan. 1 and June 18, Whitley County EMS ambulance crews had already been on 3,683 runs this calendar year.

EMT Anthony Gibson noted that during the same time frame last year, the service had fewer than 3,000 runs.

The EMR training class will cost $250 to take, and applicants will have to pass state certification boards.

“We are looking for a few good people,” Harrison noted.

In order to qualify for the program, applicants must be at least 18 years old, have a GED or high school diploma, pass a background check and pass regular drug screenings.

The starting pay hasn’t been determined, but it will be below the starting pay for an EMT, which is about $9 per hour.

Harrison added that the Corbin Vocational School can be largely credited with helping supply what EMTs have come from Whitley County.

During Monday’s meeting, the coalition also discussed the donation of 85 doses of Narcan by the Whitley County UNITE Coalition to Whitley County EMS.

Narcan is a drug designed to reverse the effects of a drug overdose when someone quits breathing.

Harrison said that often, her ambulance crews administer Narcan two to three times per day, and crews are sometimes administering up to two doses of Narcan per patient, which is all they are allowed to administer.

During Monday’s meeting, the coalition also announced a change to the bylaws. One of the biggest changes is that meetings will now be held quarterly instead of monthly.