Special to the Elmore Autauga News
Don‘t think an ambulance can always show up as quickly as you wish, especially in the times we are living now.
Tallassee Mayor John Hammock voiced concerns about Emergency Medical Services (EMS) at the Elmore County Commission meeting last week. Hammock cited a couple of times when the response time was slow in his community.
Haynes Ambulance services the county but also services several municipalities in the county, most notably Wetumpka and Tallassee. Those municipalities and the county have a compact agreement with Haynes, which maintains five vehicles that can be on the go and moved around at any time based upon the needs of the community.
No person plans for an emergency and it is impossible for an ambulance service to do the same, area medical personnel say.
“We have another situation that came up this year called the Coronavirus. There is no way we can just take off in an unprepared truck. Since this virus is so serious we have to conduct an extensive sanitizing process after every call,” Elmore County Commissioner Bart Mercer said. “The last thing we want to do is try and help someone and expose them to another problem. It takes us about forty-five minutes to clean a vehicle now…just to make it safe.”
Mercer represents the County Commission on the EMS. He readily agrees there have been a few longer than normal waits. “We are doing the best we can with the resources at our disposal,” Mercer remarked. “We will continue to try and improve the service and grow as the county grows. Of course, that’s always easier than it sounds.”
In addition to the Coronavirus, all EMS organizations are facing an even bigger problem – a huge shortage of manpower.
The City of Millbrook is not part of the county compact but has its own EMS. Millbrook Fire Chief Larry Brown explained the manpower shortage.
“There are just not enough medics. Everyone has a hard time finding medics. You just can’t have a truck go out to help someone if you don’t have medics,” Brown said. “These guys do not earn the highest wage in the world and they work their butts off. After a while, they either get burned out or it just isn’t worth the money they earn. It’s hard to keep a good medic when you get one.”
Add to that as Essential Personnel, medics and first responders of all kinds are on the front line of responding to calls that involve COVID-19. Departments throughout our area have dealt with employees who tested positive, had to be quarantined and/or receive medical treatment before they can come back to work. In a time where manpower is already short, this has not helped matters.
