![]() “After a pandemic where we've asked these folks to work harder than they've ever had to work in their career and then to come back to them and say, you know, this is the solution?” “It's the addition of that third day that, you know, it's a strain on people,” Rayne said, some frustration evident in his voice. That’s a hard fit for people with families, Rae said, noting the change forced some of her colleagues to leave or consider leaving the department. Periods of mandatory overtime are also used to fill out staffing. To balance out the scheduling, Rayne shifted demands to add a third 24-hour shift in five days before getting four straight days off. That includes mental health, which is often affected by the situations paramedics encounter in the field. “But more often than not, I was coming in and working another 24-hour shift or even more than one 24-hour shift during my days off.”Īdding to the staffing challenges are on-the-job injuries and illness, which Rayne said have been on the rise. “Technically, I worked Friday, Sunday and then had Monday through Thursday off,” she explained. Paramedic Dawn Rae has been with Ada County for nearly two decades, lately enduring more overtime demands and schedule changes. Other staff leave because local fire departments or services like LifeFlight can pay considerably more. Hiring enough staff was already an issue the stress of the pandemic caused many to leave their paramedic careers. In some areas of the county, response times are under nine minutes only 80% of the time. ![]() This conundrum can stretch response times, which Rayne said are still on target in most areas: under 8:59, 90% of the time. “The way that we're funded is I can either pay people more or I can add more resources, but I can't do both at the same time,” he said. Rayne said the Treasure Valley’s growth - new homes and businesses where miles of farmland existed before - has created a conundrum. ![]() In the state’s most populous county, EMS last year responded to more than 36,000 calls, about a 14% increase from 2020. They also aren’t required to respond to every call for help. Many attendees at this ‘EMS Day’ are also members of a task force formed in the wake of a 2021 report from the state Office of Performance Evaluation, which cited the issues Rayne mentioned.Ī big one: EMS is not considered an ‘essential’ service in Idaho, which means the 44 entities - one in each county - don’t receive state funding. Volunteerism is down a lot of different issues,” he explained. “Issues from funding to recruitment and retention of personnel, education requirements. Ada County’s Chief Paramedic, Shawn Rayne, was there. Cases will continue to be assigned to the appropriate illness onset date, and vaccinations to their appropriate administration date.Last month on the second floor statehouse rotunda, about two dozen uniformed EMS personnel and leadership gathered among displays, handouts and $45 thousand dollar stretchers, all meant to grab the attention of lawmakers. This will include new and cumulative cases, hospitalizations, ICU admissions, vaccinations, deaths and reports from partner agencies (Developmental Disabilities, Veteran’s Homes, Youth Services, Mental Health and Addiction Services and Rehabilitation and Corrections). Moving forward, metrics will be updated on Thursdays. To exit full screen mode press the 'Esc' key.Īs of Monday, March 14, the Ohio Department of Health has transitioned to reporting COVID-19 metrics from a daily to weekly cadence. Note: A full screen option for this dashboard can be found on the lower right corner.
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