LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A shortage of paramedics and ambulances has plagued Bullitt County EMS, forcing some 911 callers to have to wait longer for that life-saving help.
But there's a cure in the works to stop the bleeding of resources and manpower: $4-an-hour raises for EMTs and paramedics.
The raise would be a welcomed reprieve for paramedics like Lt. Jonathan Martin, who is one of Bullitt County's newest paramedics.
"I love being able to go to someone and help them in their hour of need," Martin said. "Every person that calls 911 — that is a dark moment for them."
The agency is coming out of a dark moment of its own, facing a critical shortage of paramedics, forcing lesser-trained EMTs to fill in the gaps.
Patients have been facing longer wait times as workers are forced into overtime to fill the mandatory minimum staffing requirements to fill shifts.
The developments caused an exodus of staff from Bullitt County EMS over the last year.
But officials hope a $4-an-hour raise will cause staff who are leaving to reconsider and even draw more paramedics to the agency.
"A happy, happy feeling — like you don't have to cut the air with a knife," said Capt. Kristopher Morrison, an EMT with Bullitt County EMS.
Starting pay jumps to $17.75 an hour for EMTs and $21.75 for paramedics. That increase raises Bullitt County's hourly wages to a level that is more comparable with surrounding departments.
"My wife and I — we don't struggle anymore," Martin said. "At least not near as much as we used to."
First responders say the January passing of Ray Hodge brought urgency to the issue. A WDRB News investigation revealed the terminal cancer patient's 27-minute wait for a paramedic as he vomited blood.
"You're supposed to feel relief when you call 911," Shonda Hodge, Ray Hodge's wife, said in January.
Shonda Hodge said she knew he was terminally ill, but, "I still wanted him to get the best care possible."
Martin said predicaments like Hodge's are the stuff of nightmares for EMTs who want nothing more than to be there to help when people call for help. In Hodge's case, three basic lower level trained EMTs first responded to the call and could not provide some needed interventions like the creation of an airway, care a paramedic would have immediately been able to provide.
"It's one of those things, it's hard to muster up words for other than just dread," Martin said.
At the time, Bullitt County EMS had just two full-time working paramedics. Martin is now one of seven on the job, and leaders hope to employ 24.
They've also put another ambulance on the street to decrease response times and are working on a partnership to train new staff.
"We're working with Bullitt East High School to be able to put together a program where we can home grow our own EMTs and eventually into paramedics as well," Bullitt County Judge Executive Jerry Summers said.
The goal is to have a paramedic on every ambulance every day.
"Ultimately, we're headed in the right direction," Martin said.
The raise will ultimately cost the county about $400,000.
Leaders put plans for an aquatic center on hold to immediately fund it and are considering increasing taxes or fees for the future.
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