EMT shortage in Pulaski County, director asking for higher wages

 

PULASKI COUNTY, Ind. -- Pulaski County is seeing a shortage of EMTs.

The Pulaski County EMS director, Natasha Daugherty, tells ABC57 they're down three EMTs.

If those spots aren't filled soon, she says it could impact how many ambulances are in service, and that could delay response times to emergencies.

Daugherty says she's simply asking the Pulaski County Council to allow for more competitive wages for EMTs.

"The wages I'm proposing won't fix the wage gap; however, it is a good start," says Pulaski County EMS Director, Natasha Daugherty.

She says they make roughly $2 less in comparison to surrounding counties, at $13.08 an hour.

"That's significantly lower than our surrounding areas," Daugherty says.

She is asking for a $15.60 wage for EMTs.

She says being short-staffed, with three open EMT positions is putting a strain on the current staff.

Not to mention, Daugherty herself had just gotten off a 72-hour shift before attending Monday night's council meeting, having to cover when EMTs are needed.

"A lot of our employees are really tired," says Daugherty. "They've been doing overtime since probably July."

If Daugherty can't hire more EMTs, she runs the risk of having to shut down one of the two ambulances from daily service.

"When you don't have an additional truck, or you have to shut down a truck, the community suffers at that point," Daugherty advises.

In a tight-knit community like Pulaski County, Daugherty hopes the EMS department she trained in won't take a hard hit for the sake of the community.

"I just want to see our service become a better service and offer those competitive wages to make sure we have quality providers that are caring not only for my family but my friends as well," says Daugherty.

Ultimately, the council decided to table it Monday night.

Some councilmembers said they're concerned that adjusting the wage by itself isn't enough, and that they'll never be able to pay enough in comparison to bigger counties.

Most of them did agree that there at least does need to be a pay bump.