Paramedics often are the first responders to medical emergencies, whether they be traffic accidents or calls for an ambulance from a person’s home. Technically, most are not doctors or nurses; however, they are responsible for assessing a patient’s condition, diagnosing the specific problem and rendering the appropriate treatment, both at the site of the call and in the ambulance en route to a hospital. Their efforts can be complicated by the environment, which can include traffic-filled streets and highways and all kinds of weather.
Amid all those challenges, their decisions and treatment can be the difference between life and death for some patients.
Obviously, the need for an adequate number of trained emergency medical technicians can’t be downplayed, and a shortage of EMTS can be a very real public safety concern for municipal officials.
Unfortunately, such a shortage exists, and Rio Grande Valley municipalities need to do all they can to address it.
Several Valley cities operate their own emergency medical services, usually training firefighters to work as paramedics also. Interlocal agreements with neighboring communities increases the availability of EMTs to each, although it spreads those paramedics this by expanding the range they must cover.
Other cities contract with private ambulance companies, which can bring its own issues when those companies are given exclusivity and a major event, such as a multi-vehicle accident creates a demand for EMTs that exceeds the contracted amount, or if a call goes beyond a city’s jurisdictional limits.
Harlingen officials, who have contracted with the South Texas Emergency Care Foundation, are considering searching for a second vendor that can focus on nonemergency calls so that STEC remains available for more complicated medical emergencies. The idea might or might not work; one vendor might be willing to focus on nonemergency calls at a reduced rate, or both might raise their prices if they can’t have an exclusive contract.
In Hidalgo County, Workforce Solutions is helping several cities by providing EMT training to 20 firefighters. Workforce Solutions, which is the county’s job-search and employment benefits agency, and the six cities involved are sharing the costs of the program, which began this month and runs through January.
The program literally could be a lifesaver for the cities and their residents who will benefit from the new EMTs’ efforts once they return to the field. We hope the agency is able to offer the program again in the future, and more local municipalities take advantage of such training.
Local colleges and vocational schools also could expand their pre-employment and post-employment EMT offerings in order to help cities better provide for their residents’ healthcare needs, and provide more specialized job opportunities in an area that chronically has a higher unemployment rate than both the state and nation.
Addressing a community’s healthcare needs is one of the greatest responsibilities our elected officials face. Any effort that helps provide more medically trained emergency responders improves the quality of life for everyone.
