In 2021, Macon County EMS faced an unprecedented swell in call volume as the number of requests for services spiked more than 20 percent in just one year.
From 2019 to 2020, EMS calls within the county fell from 6,618 calls to 6,334 – a drop of just over 4% – but the following year saw a dramatic uptick in calls as the department responded to 7,698 requests in 2021.
“It usually jumps up 2 to 3 percent each year. Twenty-one percent is unheard of,” said Todd Doster, EMS coordinator for Macon County Emergency Medical Services.
As with so many other statistical anomalies that have emerged in recent years, the exact causes are hard to pin down but seem likely to be tied to the far-reaching effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“As far as why people are calling 911 more often, I can’t answer that. It’s been pretty much across the board, whether it’s illnesses or injuries,” Doster said. “We had a lot more breathing difficulty calls, and I can correlate that to COVID. Our cardiac arrests were significantly increased as well, almost double what they were normally. I think, for a while, people were not going to the hospital and then when they did call us, they were a lot worse off.”
The surge in call volume last year coincided with a staffing shortage in the EMS department, putting a great deal of strain on the employees tasked with covering the increased number of cases. Doster said Macon County EMS had 11 openings in a 41-person department six months ago, and pay increases intended to recruit and retain candidates for the jobs have only been so effective in addressing the shortage.
“The pay increase that was provided for us a few months ago has helped, but all the areas around us have had to do the same to remain competitive so we’ve lost our edge with that a bit,” Doster said.
Effectively staffing the EMS department is challenging in part because of the interconnected nature of the emergency response and healthcare industries. Doster said the COVID-19 pandemic caused many qualified people in the emergency response field to retire, and the limited number of new workers with the training necessary for EMS work are spread thin across numerous service providers.
“Unfortunately, when we’re competing for employees all we’re doing is stealing someone from another service – there’s not a lot of new people coming into the field,” Doster said.
Looking ahead, Doster expressed cautious optimism that the call volume from 2021 would prove to be an anomaly rather than the new reality the department faces.
“Our volume is still up – it’s not up over last year, but it is over normal years. We’re still seeing an increase,” he said. “If it trends like it has from the beginning of the year, I don’t think we’ll meet the volume we had last year. It seems to be going back toward the normal growth that we’ve always had.”
With steady growth seeming to be the norm, Doster said he hoped to see some additional resources directed to the department in the coming county budget cycle.
“I’ve asked for two more positions to be approved in the budget this year so we can put a daytime truck on. We’re busy 24 hours a day, but we get busier during the daytime,” Doster said.
The department is also seeking two refits for their trucks, which if approved would address the increased wear and tear on vehicles that have seen increased use coinciding with the swell in call volume in the past year. This focus on staffing and keeping current EMS employees able to provide critical emergency services is the only way the county can continue to provide the level of service they do, Doster said.
“Anything we can do to increase recruitment and retention, we want to do,” he said. “We’ve invested in a lot of equipment for our folks. We’re trying to increase employee satisfaction and career longevity. Compared to other local services here, we’re probably doing more calls per truck so we’re working our people more. If we could hire those two positions that would help take the load off our staff now.”