By Leila Merrill
ROCKINGHAM COUNTY, N.C. — Current full-time EMTs and paramedics in Rockingham County will get $5,000 bonuses, and newly hired EMS providers will get $5,000 bonuses if they complete their training by June 30, WFMY reported.
Rockingham County Board of Commissioners made the change Wednesday and also approved $100 bonuses for those who work extra shifts.
“We are in a crisis,” Rodney Cates, emergency services director, said before the meeting, “We are losing talented employees because other agencies are offering them more money. This proposal is to inform all of Rockingham County of the shortage we have. We run the risk of shutting down ambulances due to not having the personnel to physically operate them because other agencies are offering compensation that we are not.”
The financial moves are temporary.
“Cates came to me with a plan,” County Manager Lance Metzler said, “We have to offer competitive compensation to not [just] hire vacant positions but to keep our employees here. I’m confident this move is a step in the right direction to retain and recruit our Emergency Services staff moving forward.”
The county is participating in a salary study involving all county positions.