DURHAM, NC -- EMS workers in Durham County earned nearly $2 million in overtime in just one year, according to records obtained by WRAL Investigates through a public records request. The amount is a testament to the need for additional employees, and an indication of how many shifts existing workers have to pick up to ensure someone is available to respond to emergencies.
WRAL Investigates has reported for years on the growing demands on the agency, with a growing County population, an increasing number of 911 calls, and continued staffing shortages. WRAL has also reported on the result: some less serious 911 calls are placed on hold because there is no ambulance available to send.
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"Obviously we don't want anyone to have to wait," Durham County Director of Emergency Services Mark Lockhart said. "Unfortunately, that's the situation we've found ourselves in."
Lockhart said that issue is not unique to Durham, and he is right. WRAL Investigates contacted Wake County and Orange County, whose representatives both said that they, too, sometimes have to hold lower acuity calls.
Lockhart said out of 179 positions in Durham County EMS, 39 of them, or about 22%, are vacant.
Knowing about the staffing issues, WRAL Investigates filed a public records request with Durham County, asking for overtime figures for the latest fiscal year, which ended in June.
The records show $1,709,670.15 in EMS OT was spent during that time, for a total of 34,627.77 hours worked. The top five overtime earners within EMS all earned more than $24,000 in overtime alone, with two people earning more than $40,000. The overtime spending came in under the $1.9 million allotted by the County. The amount of overtime spending is down slightly from $1,765,876.25 in the prior year.
WRAL News asked Lockhart what the agency is doing to prevent burnout. Lockhart said they speak openly about mental health and have a peer support program. He said therapy dogs sometimes visit the workers, too.
"It's a physically demanding job," Lockhart said. "It's mentally very stressful because you’re, in some cases, making life or death decisions."
Lockhart said pay in Durham does not appear to be an issue in recruiting or retention. He said, most often, those who leave Durham EMS are leaving to attend nursing school, physician assistant school, or medical school.
Even if fully staffed, Lockhart said he believes the department still would not have the appropriate numbers to meet the County's needs. He noted 12 positions were added for the upcoming budget, although he would still like to see more.
Lockhart said not only is it hard to find staff, it is hard to find the physical ambulances themselves.
"The ambulance manufacturing industry is still recovering from the pandemic," he said. "When we order an ambulance today, that vehicle will not arrive in Durham for three years."
As far as a solution, Lockhart said:
"We've got to do a really good job at recruiting and making sure that the pipeline of incoming employees is solid."
Thankfully, a new Durham EMS academy started this week, on Tuesday, with roughly a dozen people enrolled. While the onboarding process takes roughly two months, Lockhart said they're making progress in the right direction.