A Fair Day`s Wage

America is viewed throughout the world as the country where you can "make it" if you work hard. Unfor­tunately, for many EMS providers, working hard-which often equates to working more than one job-may never be enough to earn a liveable wage.

Recently, on an episode of CBS MarketWatch, journalist Chris Plummer reported on the 10 most underpaid jobs in the U.S. EMTs and paramedics made the list, with an average salary of $25,450 according to figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Other low-paid professions included restaurant dishwashers, slaughterers, preschool teachers and meatpackers.

This issue's cover report focuses on the woeful state of pay in EMS. In We Don't Pay Them Like Heroes, starting on page 73, Bryan Bledsoe, DO, FACEP, EMT-P, interviewed several medics to see what life is like on an EMS salary. In 2002, Jeremy Thomasson, EMT-I, and his wife (also an EMT-Intermediate) were full-time employees at Marfa EMS in Texas. During that year, Jeremy and his wife earned $5.85 an hour each and had a combined income below the Texas poverty level. They qualified for both federal food stamps and the government's Poverty Transition program, which aids families with extremely low incomes. In Mississippi, despite seven years' experience as a nationally registered paramedic with an associate's degree, Lori Hollingsworth earns $13.79 an hour. Her annual salary is $31,661, but as she pays $400 a month for her health insurance benefits program, her effective annual salary is $26,861. While the situation appears to improve the farther west you travel, EMTs and paramedics are still drawn to the fire department as the place to obtain higher salaries and better benefits.

So why is the situation so bad? In The Low-Pay Lowdown on page 81, EMS Magazine Associate Editor John Erich interviewed representatives from leading EMS associations to ascertain how to improve the situation. "The biggest single factor is still the lack of recognition of EMS as an essential public safety-net service," says Cai Glushak, MD, a board member for the National Association of EMS Physicians (NAEMSP). "It's still the orphan child of the health system, and the personnel are therefore still undervalued."

As for solutions, national awareness of the EMS profession is key. Don Walsh, PhD, EMT-P, assistant deputy chief paramedic with the Chicago Fire Department, has been involved in the formation of a task force, Project USEMSA, to work on the establishment of a federal EMS office. "It's going to be a federal office that can bring about administrative standards and policies for EMS," says Walsh. "We have to recognize EMS as a vital, essential emergency service, like police and fire. One of the things we're shooting for is to have a Congressional commission investigate and identify who EMS is in the United States. We feel that once a commission investigates it, they're going to turn around and ask, 'How have you guys been running for 30 years?!'"

As usual, we welcome your comments. Send e-mail to emseditor@aol.com.