KENT COUNTY, Del. — The Kent County Levy Court unanimously voted to double sign-on bonuses for paramedics, raising the maximum from $5,000 to $10,000.
Public Safety Director John Tinger told Delaware Public Media the larger incentives will help the county compete with other jurisdictions and attract experienced medics to fill numerous vacancies.
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“With 11 open vacancies right now, the most attractive employee candidate would be a certified paramedic coming from out of state,” Tinger said. “Those are the ones that we could probably get out into the field within about three months.”
Under the plan, Kent County would pay sign-on bonuses in installments over a three-year period instead of a lump sum. Some commissioners worry about ‘bonus hopping’ where paramedics could sign on, work a year, then jump to another jurisdiction offering a bonus, such as New Castle County.
The court also raised paramedic trainee schedules from 35 to 40 hours a week to match DelTech’s EMS program, and shifted contingency funds from the Harrington station to cover about $36,000 in overruns at the Frederica station caused by recycled-concrete soil stabilization.
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How should EMS agencies recruit experienced paramedics, EMTs while discouraging “bonus hopping”?
