GOVERNMENT National EMS worker shortage a ecting Montgomery County
2023 HEALTH CARE EDITION
The mean voluntary turnover rate for full-time paramedics in the U.S. in 2020 was 26%. According to survey responses from 138 organizations, reasons ranged from career changes to retirement. Reasons given for turnover Leaving EMS
BY CASSANDRA JENKINS
Sarah Cuccia, captain of profes- sional development at the MCHD, said hiring is another priority. The Texas Workforce Commission projects the emergency medical tech- nicians and paramedic occupation in the Gulf Coast region, which includes Montgomery County, is expected to grow 22% in 10 years. Despite seeing a shortage of workers, Campbell said the MCHD is 99% sta ed with six open EMT positions and 14 para- medic positions as of May 31. In 2024-25, he said the hospital district anticipates opening more new stations in the county, which will create more open positions. Thinking ahead, Cuccia said the district is o ering to pay tuition for EMTs to attend paramedic school at Lone Star College. In exchange, new graduates commit to working at the MCHD for at least three years. “It’s a good opportunity if you’re an EMT and you want to be a para- medic,” she said. “You can go to school full time and get paid to work full time.” Michael Furrh, a board member of Texas EMS Alliance, which serves as the state’s public policy voice for EMS providers, listed pay as another major contributing factor to the shortage. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the annual median wage for paramedics as of May 2021 was $46,770. The average salary for EMTs was $35,470. The average median wage is $67,505 for paramedics at MCHD and $48,100 for EMTs, Campbell said.
45%
Career change
James Campbell, EMS chief for the Montgomery County Hospital District, said paramedics and emergency medical technicians in Texas are being adversely a ected by a shortage of workers. A study by the American Ambu- lance Association in 2022 found the national employee turnover rate for emergency medical services is at an all-time high, reaching a range of 26%-36%, depending on the position. Campbell said the MCHD’s turnover rate has been below the national average for the past three years, but numbers still remain high. In 2020, the turnover rate in Montgomery County for EMTs and paramedics was approximately 8%, doubling in 2021 to 16% before increasing in 2022 to 19%. As of May, the turnover rate is 15%. “One of the biggest contributing factors that is leading to the para- medic shortage is burnout—we’re busier now than we’ve ever been,” he said. “If you look at having more calls but fewer paramedics and fewer trucks on the road, it’s causing people to leave the industry.” To address the high turnover rate, Campbell said his rst step was to focus on employee retention. In January, the MCHD implemented a schedule change to allow paramedics and EMTs an additional day o — ve in total—to help restore work-life balance. The new schedule is now one 24-hour shift, one day o , another 24-hour shift and then ve consecutive days o .
36%
Dissatisfaction with pay No advancement opportunities Dissatisfaction with organization Moved out of area
19% 19%
18%
17%
School Retired COVID-19 Other
8%
SOURCE: 2021 AMBULANCE INDUSTRY EMPLOYEE TURNOVER STUDY COMMUNITY IMPACT
5%
4%
How Montgomery County compares
The Montgomery County Hospital District has been below the national average for EMT and paramedic employee turnover in the past three years while remaining on the higher end of the pay scale.
Median annual wages
Turnover rate
MCHD
National
MCHD
National*
2021
2022
EMTs
16% turnover
19% turnover
$48,100
$35,470
Paramedics
20%-30% turnover
26%-36% turnover
$67,505
$46,770
SOURCES: U.S. BUREAU LABOR OF STATISTICS, 2022 AMBULANCE INDUSTRY EMPLOYEE TURNOVER STUDY, MONTGOMERY COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH DISTRICT COMMUNITY IMPACT *NATIONAL TURNOVER RATES REPRESENT A RANGE AMONG NATIONAL EMTS AND PARAMEDICS.
Furrh said the salary for rst responders is paid through a city or county budget, causing challenges in upping pay. “I really want the general public to understand that we aren’t just ambulance drivers,” Furrh said. “Paramedics are essentially a rolling
ER room, and we are doing things in the ditch that they are doing in the hospital. All of us want to pay our employees more. Most of us can’t, but somebody will always be there to answer the call; it just depends on where you are in the state on how the shortage is being addressed.”
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