You arrive at the emergency department with your patient to see a wall of ambulances taking up every available space. As you unload the gurney your patient looks around anxiously, seeing the other gurneys with patients on them waiting to be seen by the hospital staff. Paramedics and EMT's are standing next to their patients, apologizing for the wait, reassuring them that they'll be seen, tending to their needs and rendering care, all while lining the walls or standing outside. You look to the nearest crew, and they tell you they've been waiting for 3 hours already. They're tired. They're hungry. They're irritated. Your patient asks to go to another hospital, but you have to tell them it's the same all around. This has become the reality of EMS, and this isn't all of it. Worse yet, this seems to be the norm, rather than the exception.
This past Wednesday the California State Assembly Emergency Management Committee had an informational hearing on the situation that is affecting every EMS agency and provider in that state. One of our AFSCME UEMSW Local 4911 Labor Reps, Jennifer Warman, spoke at that hearing, as both a current part time paramedic for the Sacramento Area and as a Labor Rep for UEMSW. Here is the video in it's entirety, and at the 59:33 minute mark you can see our Labor Rep Jennifer Warman speak on the issue.
This is an issue that impacts all of EMS, all over the country. It affects our communites, our ability to serve them affectively, and the health of our communities. If affects our brothers and sisters in the workforce, their families and friends, and their physical and mental health as well. This issue must be addressed immediately, and here is a good start. Our sincerest hope is that our voices do not fall on deaf ears, and that together we can come up with a viable solution.
Stay safe, stay healthy, and stay strong. We are in this together. Together we can make this right.
