Odessa needs more EMTs for emergencies, transports

Our community is in desperate need of additional EMTs to help serve both for 911 calls and for emergency transports to other communities for advanced levels of care. Unfortunately, the need for EMTs isn’t unique to our community. Services such as ours struggle to keep quasi-volunteers due to the commitment involved in maintaining EMT certification and to the time commitment it takes. The need for maintaining the level of competence and the relevant credential is, of course, essential and necessary to provide the high quality of service that our patients and community expect. However, one solution to the time commitment is to have more EMTs and less on-call time for everyone involved.

You may not be aware that Odessa Memorial Healthcare Center actually employs the EMT team. The ambulance service was transferred to OMHC’s care a number of years ago. EMTs are paid for their training time and for time spent on “calls” of any kind. Additionally, a nominal hourly “call-rate” is paid to each team member when they are on-call to respond evenings and weekends. An average pay week is likely to be in excess of $175. Of particular need at this time are individuals who are able to assist with periodic transports to Spokane or Moses Lake during business hours, along with the occasional evening or weekend call.

Training for EMTs includes attending an initial EMT Certification Course which typically is held twice a week for approximately two months. The course is offered in Reardan, and the next class is expected to begin in February, although final dates haven’t been set. The classes are typically on Tuesday or Wednesday and then all day on Saturday. Odessa Memorial Healthcare Center covers the cost of the class, once the prospective EMT signs an agreement to provide service for a minimum of one year.

After the Certification Course, a prospective EMT takes a national registry exam in Spokane. Once the course and exam have been completed and passed, the EMT will be eligible for hire at OMHC for on-call and hourly EMT work. Continuing education requirements include one monthly two-hour meeting with training and an annual education requirement for employees of the hospital, typically one day per year.

At present EMTs are on call every other week, but the hope is that, with additional team-members, the time can be reduced to one out of every three weeks. The average call volume is 2.3 calls per week, which includes 911 calls and transports. OMHC guarantees a one-hour minimum per call, however the time involved can range anywhere from less than one hour to approximately four hours if a transport is involved.

Those who would like to contribute to their community, earn a little extra money and be part of a life-saving team are asked to contact Human Resources at OMHC to submit an application and register to take the next class. Human Resources can be reached at 509-982-2611, ext. 195. Questions about the work that EMTs perform can be directed to Justin Parr, EMT Director, via email at parrj@omhc.org.

By MO SH