A recent state house committee hearing focused on struggles that face emergency services providers in Pennsylvania.
Donald Dereamus is a board member with the Ambulance Association of Pennsylvania and he says EMS providers continue to face workforce struggles.
“The annual turnover rate nationally and in the Commonwealth is 30 percent,” Dereamus said. “We cannot retain workers. There’s a severe shortage of EMS providers in the country and the state. So that’s 18,000 people taking 1.8 million calls each year in the Commonwealth.”
Dereamus says the workforce shortage has also led to increased response times. He also adds that EMS providers are struggling financially.
“The cost to provide services is substantially more than the reimbursement pay resulting in a deficit on every call,” Dereamus said.
