EMS employees stretched thin, worked over 30,000 hours of overtime
NEWS COVERAGE YOU CAN COUNT ON.
>> U.S. WORKERS IN DURHAM AND
NEARLY 2 MILLION DOLLARS IN
OVERTIME IN JUST A YEAR.
IT'S A TESTAMENT TO HOW
SHORT-STAFFED THEY ARE AND HOW
MANY SHIFTS THAT WORKERS HAVE
TO PICK UP JUST TO MAKE SURE
SOMEONE CAN RESPOND TO
EMERGENCIES. WRAL INVESTIGATES
SARAH KRUEGER IS ASKING WHAT
THE PLAN IS TO BRING THEM
RELIEF.
AS CALLS TO 9-1-1. SKYROCKET
WITH POPULATION GROWTH IN
DURHAM COUNTY. THERE ARE NOT
ENOUGH AMBULANCES OR EMS
WORKERS TO RESPOND TO ALL OF
THE EMERGENCIES.
>> RADIO TRAFFIC FROM
BROADCASTIFY MAKES THAT CLEAR.
I KNOW WE'RE BACK UP TO IT THE
WAY FOR FEAR THAT PROMPTED SOME
OF THE LESS SERIOUS CALLS ARE
PUT ON HOLD TO PEOPLE WHO ARE
GOING THROUGH A MEDICAL
EMERGENCY COULD FEEL LIKE THE
NOSE MINUTES REALLY MATTER.
DURHAM RESIDENT STERLING CLARK
FIELD FOR THE EMS WORKERS WHO
ARE STRETCHED THIN. THEY MIGHT
BE SHORT, BUT THEY ARE TRYING
THEIR BEST. OBVIOUSLY, WE DON'T
WANT ANYONE TO HAVE TO WAIT.
>> UNFORTUNATELY, THAT'S THE
SITUATION WE FIND OURSELVES
IN THE MARKET. LA CARTE IS
DURHAM COUNTY'S DIRECTOR OF
EMERGENCY SERVICES.
>> LOCKHART SAYS OUT OF 179
POSITIONS, 39 OR ABOUT 22% ARE
VACANT.
>> KNOWING ABOUT THE STAFFING
ISSUES, WRAL INVESTIGATES HAS
COVERED FOR YEARS. I FILED A
PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST WITH
DURHAM COUNTY ASKING HOW MUCH
OVER TIME WAS PAID TO EMS IN
THE LATEST FISCAL YEAR THAT
ENDED IN JUNE. THE RESPONSE, A
STAGGERING
1.7 MILLION DOLLARS.
>> COMING FROM MORE THAN 34,000
HOURS OF OVERTIME WORKED WITH
ONE EMPLOYEE EARNING MORE THAN
$42,000 IN OVERTIME ALONE.
EQUALLY SURPRISING THAT
SPENDING CAME IN UNDER BUDGET
OF THE 1.9 MILLION. THE COUNTY,
A LOT OF EM S FOR OVERTIME.
HOW DO YOU BALANCE? YOU KNOW,
WE AS A COUNTY OBVIOUSLY NEED
PEOPLE WHO CAN COME HELP.
THOSE AMONG US WHO HAVE
EMERGENCIES. BUT YOUR STAFF
ALSO
>> IT'S A GREAT IT'S A
PHYSICALLY DEMANDING JOB.
IT'S MENTALLY VERY STRESSFUL
BECAUSE YOU'RE IN SOME CASES
MAKING LIFE OR DEATH DECISION.
>> LOCKHART SAYS THEY TALK
OPENLY ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH AND
PEER SUPPORT PROGRAM. I ASKED
OTHER EMS AGENCIES IN THE AREA
IF THEY'RE HOLDING LOWER-LEVEL
CALLS TOO.
>> SOME ARE WAKE COUNTY'S
SAYING IT TO SOMETIMES HAS TO
HOLD CALLS IN WHICH THE
PATIENT'S HEALTH STATUS IS
STABLE.
>> THE PROBLEM IS STAFF ARE
HARD TO FIND AND SO ARE THE
PHYSICAL AMBULANCES. IT.
>> AND WE'LL BRING IT BACK.
DURING INDUSTRY IS STILL
RECOVERING FROM THE PANDEMIC.
WHEN WE ORDER AN AMBULANCE
TODAY.
THAT VEHICLE WILL NOT ARRIVE IN
DURHAM FOR 3 YEARS. WHAT IS
THE SOLUTION HERE? WE'VE GOT TO
DO A REALLY GOOD JOB OF
RECRUITING AND MAKING SURE THAT
THE PIPELINE OF INCOMING
EMPLOYEES IS SOLID. IT'LL TAKE
MORE PEOPLE LIKE STERLING CAR.
>> WU SAYS IT'S HIS DREAM TO BE
AN EMT. SO YOU'RE PLANNING TO
APPLY TO DURHAM COUNTY EMS?
YES, MA'AM, I AM. I'M CURRENTLY
IN THERE INSIDE RIGHT NOW.
SO I'M WORKING TOWARDS MY TV
AND IM GOING TO GO INTO INTO
SCHOOL. A NEW GROUP OF ABOUT A
DOZEN RECRUITS STARTS THIS
WEEK. THE ONBOARDING PROCESS
TAKES ABOUT 2 MONTHS, BUT STILL
IT'S PROGRESS IN THE RIGHT
DIRECTION. SARAH KRUEGER, WRAL
NEWS IN DURHAM.
>> AND WRAL'S BEEN REPORTING
EMS SPENDING ISSUES AND
STAFFING SHORTAGES FOR AGENCIES
ALL OVER THE TRIANGLE. YOU CAN
FIND MORE DETAILED BACK A
BREAKDOWN OF THE NUMBERS AND
WHICH COUNTIES ARE SEEING A