Disasters, both natural and human-launched, have lately reminded us much we depend on the heroic men and women of our police, fire, and emergency medical departments. Bombings, shootings, hurricanes, bridge collapses — these first-responders run toward the very things the rest of us run from.
But a recent item from Stateline (“The Daily News Service of the Pew Charitable Trusts”) reveals an awfully troubling fact of life in the Great Recession’s budget-slashing: Front-Line Heroes Subject to Budget Cuts, Pay Disparity.
Yes, these front-line champions, more and more, are finding themselves victims of governments dealing with fiscal hard times.
Forty-four percent of the 200 largest cities surveyed last year reported cuts in their emergency-medical services, says the Journal of Emergency Medical Services (EMS). Twenty-eight percent of those big cities either imposed an EMS hiring freeze or stopped filling EMS vacancies — some for the third year running. Thirty of the cities said the budget-crunch had forced them to fire emergency-response folks.
A makeshift system of rules and regulations — varying wildly by city and state — governs emergency-medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics. The same holds true for what they’re paid, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
This year in the regular legislative session, House Bill 1859 sought to inject a little common sense into Washington state standards for the licensing of businesses and professions — including EMTs. Specifically, the proposal directs that an applicant’s military training and experience be recognized as satisfying business-license and professions-license requirements. Though it passed the House, 97-0, it was not considered in the Senate.