By Keith Gushard
The Meadville Tribune
MEADVILLE, Pa. — Pennsylvania is taking a multi-point approach to alleviate an employee shortage in emergency medical services (EMS), according to Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Debra Bogen.
Emergency medical services professionals essential to the health care system and the state are stepping up recruitment and retention efforts, Bogen said during a Thursday visit at Meadville Area Ambulance Service.
“We have to make this field desirable for people to become part of,” Bogen said. “That means talking about (all) the benefits, making sure the pay is adequate. There is no one-size-fits-all, but it is about building the pipeline of young people across the board — nursing, EMS and physicians.”
These days, all career fields are competing for employees, Bogen said. It means more proactive involvement by visiting schools and attending public events to discuss EMS-related careers.
“We have to make it desirable and make sure people have ways to advance in their career,” she continued. “What makes somebody fulfilled in their career is they feel respected. They get appropriate reimbursement. They get a career ladder, so they can advance if they so desire.”
The Department of Health partnered with three EMS units this year to fund summer camps introducing high school students to the EMS profession, giving them a firsthand look at what the job entails. The pilot program was successful and will be expanded in 2025, she said.
Earlier this year, the Department of Health launched a $1 million tuition assistance program to recruit and retain EMS professionals, she said.
Funded by the Fireworks Tax Act for the next three years, Pennsylvania residents who obtained a Pennsylvania state certification as an Emergency Medical Responder (EMR), Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), Advanced Emergency Medical Technician (AEMT) or paramedic after July 1, 2023, are eligible to have a portion of their tuition reimbursed.
In addition, Pennsylvania-licensed EMS agencies are eligible to receive reimbursement of expenses related to recruitment and retention efforts, up to $1,250 per fiscal year.
Various state departments and agencies such as economic development, human services, health and others are coordinating efforts, too, she said.
“Workforce issues don’t fall solely on just one department or agency,” she said. “It’s all of us working together.”
A coordinated effort especially is needed in rural areas like Crawford County.
“We know that when you train people from rural communities they come back to their communities,” she said. “We want to make sure that (health care) access isn’t just in the big cities, but is in our rural areas as well.”
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