WRDW
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Paramedics are there to save your life in an emergency, but are there enough of them?
A nationwide paramedic shortage is hitting our area and without enough nearby schools to train them, the problem will only get worse. “It’s a desperate need in this area. When we do lose a medic it does hurt,” said Gold Cross EMS CEO Vince Brogdon. Brogdon says medics average about 5 years in EMS before moving on.
“When they can do to the same amount of school and they can make more money in a controlled environment like a hospital, some choose to do that,” he explained. Thomas Edwards has been a paramedic for four years. “In a medical emergency seconds count. There is no second chance in a lot of these things,” said Edwards. “The closer we are, the more of us that there are, the faster we can respond and the quicker we can help save somebody’s life.”
Full story: CSRA feeling effects of nationwide paramedic shortage