Crawford County Memorial Hospital recently issued the following announcement.
Despite offering scholarships and continuing to recruit new employees to its service, Crawford County Memorial Hospital (CCMH) continues to experience a shortage of paramedics and EMTs to staff the second call crews in its Emergency department. Second crews are primarily used for patient transfers to tertiary care facilities in Council Bluffs, Omaha, Des Moines and Sioux City.
Erin Muck, CCMH President and CEO, says the current shortage of Emergency services personnel is not confined to Denison or Crawford County.
“Many other EMS services in Iowa are working short-handed and are looking for additional workers. According to recent statistics, only 50% of EMS personnel in the United States renewed their licenses in 2021,” Muck explained. “We will continue to use every means available to us to recruit more people to help us fill the void in Emergency services we are currently experiencing.”
Jason Franklin, CCMH Chief Nursing Officer, said the impact of having an irregular schedule for a second call crew is lessened by the fact that mutual aid from other Crawford County volunteer EMS services is needed on less than 1% of all 911 calls.
“Even though our emergency call volumes continue to increase, our need for mutual aid for emergency calls averages out to less than one time per month. CCMH will continue to staff to have crews available to answer 911 calls and emergencies”, Franklin said. “Except for rare incidents with multiple casualties or multiple 911 calls in the county, CCMH will have enough personnel sufficient for our emergency needs.”
“We are extremely grateful for the volunteers who operate the local ambulance services in their community,” Muck said. “In addition to hiring more staff at CCMH, we are always in need of more people willing to step up to volunteer to help provide needed emergency services.”
Original source can be found here.
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