INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — A union representing EMTs in Missouri is in a dispute with the city and the EMS agency over a lack of transparency.
KSHB.com reported EMS Workers United –AFCSME claims the city of Independence isn’t forthcoming with information about the agency. According to the union, the lack of transparency is causing responders to leave at a high rate. The employee turnover rate at the ambulance company last year was 23 percent, which is twice the national average.
“That’s a crisis to us,” said Samantha Farris, who has been an EMT with AMR for four years. “Would you want someone who has been here for a month or been here for five years?”
The city’s health director currently monitors AMR’s services through monthly response time reports.
“That’s currently the only metric that the city is measuring, then we’re not getting a full picture of our emergency care here,” said Robert Mills, an EMT at AMR.
The city said it can only extend a certain amount of control over a private company.
“The code does give the city the power to monitor patient care issues and response times, which our health director, Andrew Warlen, has done on a monthly basis both in-person and via reports. However, it does not allow our health director the power to require a private business to operate in a certain manner,” said spokesman Craig Brenner in a written statement.
The union said there is an ordinance in the city’s code that would allow the health director to request more information. The ordinance reads, “The Director of Health shall have the authority to promulgate regulations, standards, rules and minimum training requirements necessary to implement the policy and intent of this ordinance.”
In a statement from an AMR representative, the company disputes the union’s claims.
“We believe the union continues to misrepresent the data that we provided to them on multiple occasions and most recently on January 29, 2016. AMR Independence has a very stable full-time workforce. Our voluntary turnover rate for full-time employees is 2.5 percent and 9.32 percent for part-time employees. We are very proud of the low turnover rate for our full-time employees.”
The EMTs that work at AMR are hoping for a quick solution to the dispute.
“We all have a part to play and I think it’s time for all of us to start playing our part,” Farris said.