By Jessica Reynolds
The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y.
Oneonta, N.Y. — For many industries, winter is a slow season. But area first responders are busier than ever this time of year even as their numbers dwindle, according to several local emergency personnel interviewed last week.
“EMS definitely tends to be busier this time of year,” said Shawn Kauffman, chief of Delhi’s emergency medical services squad.
But the biggest challenge local emergency personnel are up against is a debilitating lack of volunteers, several area EMS officials said recently.
Delhi’s 20- to 25-person EMS squad is lucky, Kauffman said, but also rare.
“A small-town volunteer agency with 20 to 25 individuals is unheard of around here,” Kauffman said. “It’s definitely a serious issue.”
Delhi’s EMS squad goes on between 600 and 800 calls a year, Kauffman said. Even with its solid team of volunteers, it’s difficult to keep up with numbers like that, he said.
“Sustaining that level of volunteerism in the future is definitely a serious concern,” Kauffman said.
TO PAY OR NOT TO PAY?
Some areas are down to only two or three available first responders, Kauffman said, which means people who need emergency medical treatment could be waiting at least half-an-hour for an ambulance.
Because of the extreme shortage of volunteers, many communities are switching from volunteer squads to paid ones — a move Delhi considered when numbers were down, Kauffman recalled.
“A lot of areas are strongly considering it as the only other option,” Kauffman said. “There are places that don’t have a choice. They’re in dire straits.”
One of these areas is Hancock, according to Shaun Shannon, captain of Hancock’s rescue squad.
“There are about 10 active volunteers on the squad,” Shannon said Sunday. “The people we do have are real good, we just don’t have enough.”
Because of the shortage, the municipality has brought in a nonprofit private company to negotiate costs and specifics of hiring a paid squad of paramedics, Shannon said. The process is still in the planning stages and a town committee has been formed.
WOULD-BE VOLUNTEERS FACE OBSTACLES
Shannon and Kauffman said that, especially with the economy, people simply cannot abandon their jobs during the day, leaving a critical lack of coverage. There are only about three or four people on Delhi’s EMS squad who are able to leave for a call during the day, Kauffman said.
Potential volunteers may also be dissuaded by the amount of instruction and preparation required, Shannon said.
“There is so much more training and so much more continuing education you need now,” Shannon said. “It’s hard for people to devote four hours on a certain night each week to these classes.”
Shannon said switching to a paid squad seems to be the only option for Hancock.
“We have to,” Shannon said. “For the community. I think we’re going to see a lot of small communities around here making this move.”
Phyllis Falsetta, a volunteer with Hancock’s squad, said she joined the unit about a year-and-a-half ago when she learned that the municipality was looking into switching to a paid model.
“There were three of us that went and got the proper training so we could be on the squad,” Falsetta said. “We thought, if we could increase the number of volunteers, maybe we wouldn’t need a paid squad.”
Now Falsetta is on call every Thursday night, she said. In an emergency, she responds, along with a driver and a Basic Life Support provider. If the incident is serious and calls for Advanced Life Support, Cooperstown Medical Transport is summoned.
But CMT, which provides transportation services and responds to 911 calls, has had its own difficulties finding paramedics or EMTs to hire, Kauffman said.
‘MOST PEOPLE AREN’T IN THE VOLUNTEERING MOOD’
Because of a lack of volunteers, the village of New Berlin’s ambulance service has been a paid one since 2008, according to Chief Operating Officer Ken Wiggins.
“With paid service, you have people there 24/7,” Wiggins said Sunday. “With a volunteer squad, they can only respond if they’re able, depending on their availability. It was a necessary change.”
Now, a paramedic and driver are on call at all times, ready to go if they are needed, Wiggins said. The service averages between 50 and 60 calls a month.
Wiggins, who has been involved in emergency medical services for 44 years, attributed the lack of volunteers to a decline in the spirit of service.
“Most people aren’t in the volunteering mood the way they used to be,” Wiggins said. “Those who do volunteer get burned out.”
Falsetta agreed, and added that it can be “very tough” to handle upsetting or gruesome calls, especially in a small town where “you know everybody,” she said.
Volunteering is a big commitment, according to Kauffman, who also works as a nurse at O’Connor Hospital’s emergency department.
“Depending on the call schedule, people have to get up and go, day or night,” Kauffman said. “But ... it’s part of volunteering.”
And being a first responder is also “extremely interesting” and “exciting,” said Kauffman, who began volunteering at age 16.
“EMS is its own family,” Kauffman said. “And it’s very rewarding to know that you’re helping someone in your community.”
©2015 The Daily Star (Oneonta, N.Y.)