EMS Deserts in Connecticut

[Kavsuvb]

Is there such thing as EMS Desert? I saw this article on NBC Connecticut.

EMS ‘Deserts': Multiple Factors Upping Arrival Times in Conn.

Rural residents are being hit hard by what the Connecticut Association of Paramedics and EMTs, or CAPE, has called “EMS Deserts,” areas with almost no ambulance coverage. According to CAPE, in a presentation last week to the state’s public health legislature, ambulance services have had to...

www.nbcconnecticut.com

State Reports Show EMS Response Times Double

When the weight of seconds hangs the heaviest, it’s prayer that New Britain EMS paramedic Maria Desimone relies on while responding to medical emergencies. “It’s all these different thoughts and considerations that come into your head. Just help me to be strong and be confident in my decisions,”...

www.nbcconnecticut.com

 

[akflightmedic]

This exists in many states. I can attest several areas in Maine had this issue pre-Covid and now since then it has become way worse and crept into areas which did not have the issue. There is a service right now that is hiring Travel Paramedics for 13 weeks due to their extreme staffing shortages. Unsure where they think replacement staff will come from at the end of 13 weeks, unless they are banking on recruiting a few of those to full time during their stint.

 

[Jn1232th]

My place of employment is extremely short on medics, and not uncommon for whole county to be level zero at time ( or no immediate ambulances available). They are also using travel medics on 30-60 rotations.
I recently transferred to another county due to distance and am the only new medic to be hired in last few orientation classes, with this county also offering a higher hourly rate

 

[Tigger]

Colorado only requires by state statue that counties provide law enforcement and wildfire suppression. There are many rural areas in this state that have no designated EMS response and ambulances respond out of district as a courtesy with enourmous response times. Even the county that I work in has a contract allowing for 90 minute response times for emergent calls in "frontier" zones.