Body Count

It’s ironic in this high-tech era, with all the devices we possess designed to make our lives more efficient, that time is one of our most treasured commodities. This time was once devoted generously to public service and communities prided themselves on providing volunteer EMS response with funds raised via bake sales and car washes. The number of volunteer hours devoted represented a considerable savings for localities, allowing the general fund to be used elsewhere.  

However, that gift of time is becoming a national diminishing return and agencies are being forced to find other ways to staff shifts. Many volunteer organizations are becoming combination agencies with paid providers filling the response void. This, in turn, presents a funding problem, as the volunteer standard of “shaking the boot” usually cannot sustain the payroll. So how can agencies successfully integrate paid and unpaid staff? This month’s cover report answers that question, examining how a large EMS system with an expanding population and a rising call volume is still evolving into a hybrid 25 years after adding the first paid employees to its declining volunteer base.

Fortunately, volunteer response is alive and kicking in the collegiate EMS world. The National Collegiate EMS Foundation reports 248 campus-based EMS organizations in the United States responding to 90,000+ calls a year. A significant number of these students move on to medical school, with collegiate EMS becoming the nest from which future EMS eagles will fly. We hear from one of those groups in “Aftermath of a Championship,” which details how Villanova EMS helped manage a raucous celebration when the school won the NCAA basketball crown.

If you’re with a volunteer agency, we’d like to hear how your squad is meeting the staffing challenge. E-mail editor@emsworld.com.