The ongoing circus that is DCFEMS serves as a live case study to EMS management and labor everywhere. The issues that plague the department are well known, except perhaps to its government leadership. The vitriol surrounding the ambulance fires is a very public squabble between members of a dysfunctional family. It doesn’t really serve any purpose other than to try to degrade each other.
The department continues to cobble together a variety of Band-Aid solutions to a patient that is hemorrhaging internally due to a lack of vision, commitment and support to provide quality service to the District. Hiring more EMS providers will not help, not even in the short term. Replacing equipment? Nah. Until the real, underlying reasons of why the department fails in its mission are exposed, dissected and smashed into a million pieces, the department will continue to muddle along, just as it has for decades.
It’s sad, really — embarrassing, even. This is the nation’s capital, home of majestic national monuments that pay tribute and respect to the individuals who shaped this country and the commitments we made to the cause of liberty. Of course, given the current government impasse, it’s also showcasing the lack of leadership and political will of our government to put aside differences and solve the problems that face them.
Hmm, sounds familiar. Maybe there’s something in the drinking water there.
