Empowering Heroes, Ensuring Justice.

Our Emergency Medical Services (EMS) are facing a crisis. Ambulance operators nationwide are struggling to find workers, leading to a drastic decline in the number of staffed vehicles since 2015. This issue has accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the EMS system facing a crippling workforce shortage​​.

These staffing shortages are affecting patients across the country. Some patients remain in hospitals for an extra day waiting for transportation to rehabilitation facilities. Others are missing crucial appointments for cancer treatment and MRI scans. Those needing specialized care are often left waiting for transportation in community hospitals​.

Our EMS professionals, the Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) and paramedics, have been serving on the pandemic's front lines for almost two years. Exhaustion, low wages, and better opportunities elsewhere have led many to leave the profession​1​. The starting wage for an EMT at private ambulance companies in Massachusetts was between $14 to $16 an hour, a figure that has since increased by about $2 per hour as reimbursement rates rise. However, the pay remains low, given the stress and risk of the job, with some retail and warehouse positions offering higher starting salaries​.

The ambulance shortage is creating ripple effects throughout the healthcare industry. Ambulances arriving at hospital emergency rooms must sometimes wait for an hour or more to discharge patients. This is partly because hospitals are filled with patients waiting for rides to another facility, such as a rehab center or psychiatric hospital. This lack of resources is creating a lack of efficiency, contributing to hospital overcrowding​​.

The Executive Office of Health and Human Services has attempted to ease the ambulance backlog in Massachusetts by allowing operators to staff vehicles with just one trained medical worker, plus a driver, rather than the usual two​1​. However, fire departments, which have long provided emergency medical aid and transportation, cannot replace private ambulances. Firefighters are not trained to use some of the equipment, such as IV pumps and breathing ventilators, needed to transfer patients from one facility to another​​.

At ProtectEMS, we are committed to advocating for the rights and welfare of our EMS professionals and ensuring quality patient care. Join us today to support fair wages, adequate staffing, and better working conditions for our EMS workforce. Your voice can make a difference in addressing this crisis and protecting our essential EMS services. Stand up for EMS. ProtectEMS.