By EMS1 Staff
COLE COUNTY, Mo. — An ambulance service is experimenting with a 48-hour shift schedule.
News Tribune reported that some Cole County Ambulance Service EMS providers began working two consecutive 24-hour shifts, followed by four days off, in January.
Cole County Presiding Commissioner Sam Bushman said that while it’s still early, the shift schedule seems to be working well.
“We’re fully staffed now, so I think it’s worth looking at,” he said. “No one has quit, and it does give more time off. We’ll just have to see where we are in the next few weeks.”
Chief Matt Lindewirth said a vote will be held on whether or not to continue the model after a three-month trial period.
“If I feel it’s becoming unsafe or the staff feels that way, then we’ll stop immediately,” Lindewirth said. “This is a schedule that’s being done at many ambulance services.”
EMS providers participating in the trial are assigned to non-peak ambulances, meaning they respond to areas that are not known to have high call volumes.
Battalion chiefs ensure the providers on 48-hour shifts are as alert as possible by performing fatigue checks every morning. Fatigue is assessed with a formula that looks at how much time they have been assigned to a task compared to how much down time they’ve had.
“Say a crew has worked at a high call volume location like the ambulance based at the county jail: we can transfer them to a lower call volume location to allow them to get rest. And we’ve told them there won’t be any reprimands if they feel they need a break,” Lindewirth said. “So far, we haven’t had any safety concerns.”
Lindwirth said he’s “not a fan of these shifts,” but that they were requested by staff members.
“We’ve heard positives, but some negatives,” he said. “We haven’t had an overwhelming response either way. We’re taking an open approach to see if it works.”