We should listen to people like Amy McConnell
EMS agencies are facing more challenges than ever before and no one is more aware of it than the people who are on the front lines of emergency health care.
Someone like Amy McConnell, who puts in about 96 working hours per week split between two jobs in the field, is a living example of the strain on emergency health care agencies.
McConnell is director of operations for Karns City Regional Ambulance Service and works part time with East Brady Ambulance Service. She has been working professionally in EMS since 2011 and continues to put in the hours because of her interest in the job.
McConnell said one of the biggest changes in EMS work she has seen over the past 15 years includes staffing, which is a significant challenge because it has become difficult to maintain workers and hire new people to fill vacant roles.
McConnell said Karns City ambulance is holding its own and “filling a schedule.” She said there are some weeks where the service is able to put on two crews, so staffing is getting a little better. But it’s still a concern.
That is not exactly what you want to think about if you are calling 911 to report a medical emergency, but the fact the staffing is getting a little better holds promise.
McConnell hopes Butler County Community College’s EMS training program will get more people into the field. The program provides a pathway to work for one of Butler County’s EMS agencies and a weekly stipend to go along with it.
If an experienced EMS worker supports an education program of this ilk, we should throw our support behind it. It could someday mean the difference of a few life-saving minutes.
— ET
