Zephyr

New York City - Critical Shortage Of EMS Workers 06-15-2008 - 2:17 PM New York City - A shortage of medics and a surge in heat-related 911 calls left the city struggling to respond to medical emergencies last week - and the dangerous situation could worsen as summer intensifies and more FDNY EMS workers jump ship to become firefighters, sources told The Post. Dozens of ailing people waited more than an hour for a response after dialing 911 last week. During one two-hour period on a sweltering afternoon, six calls were stacked up for more than an hour, and 12 were delayed more than 30 minutes, according to Emergency Medical Service dispatch records reviewed by The Post. A shrinking work force strained to respond to a flood of about 15,000 calls over four days - the same amount the city of Boston averages in a month. On a normal working day, the city’s 2,000 emergency medical technicians, paramedics and their supervisors get about 3,200 medical calls. But last week demand spiked abruptly, going as high as 4,606 during one 24-hour period as temperatures sizzled. Eight people suffered heat-related deaths last week, the city medical examiner said. The sudden surge left dozens of calls queuing in EMS dispatch centers in The Bronx and Brooklyn. An overheated 65-year-old woman with high blood pressure waited nearly two hours for a crew. Medics didn’t reach a 37-year-old woman suffering from vomiting and stomach pains for an hour and 14 minutes. Article printed from Vos Iz Neias - (Yiddish:What’s News?): http://www.vosizneias.com URL to article: http://www.vosizneias.com/17032/2008/06/15...of-ems-workers/

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2008/06/02...more_pay-2.html Oops, somehow the URL got compressed. If cut and paste doesn't work, here's the text WITHOUT the poll. Please answer the online poll if you can... EMTs drive home plea for more pay BY KATHLEEN LUCADAMO DAILY NEWS CITY HALL BUREAU Monday, June 2nd 2008, 4:00 AM NEW YORK has the Finest, the Bravest and now the Poorest. The city's Emergency Medical Technicians, an arm of the FDNY, are sporting car visors highlighting their demand for a raise. All the silver visors show the EMTs' emblem, and one version reads, "EMTs and Paramedics - New York's Poorest," while another says, "Saving Lives at Work, Living in Poverty at Home." A third has a spin on CPR: "Can't Pay Rent at Home." "It's a humorous way of calling attention to a very serious problem," said Bob Unger of Local 2507, which represents 2,700 EMTs and paramedics. The members' contract expired two years ago, and their starting salary remains at $27,295, far lower than that of their Civil Service counterparts. They top out at $54,000 after 20 years. Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta recently acknowledged the city would be down 121 EMTs this summer because of recruitment trouble, forcing members to rack up overtime. At least one EMT was recently brought up on charges for refusing to do overtime, according to the union. Unger declined to give details because the case is pending. But he said workers are periodically docked a day's pay for failing to do "excessive overtime," and he fears more will face charges as the demand for EMTs rises with summer accidents. "The overtime that is ordered becomes so extreme that a lot of our members just burn out," said Unger. "At what point does your professional judgment get impaired by exhaustion?" klucadamo@nydailynews.com

Please read this newspaper article about the plight of New York's Poorest-- FDNY EMS EMTs and Paramedics, and vote in the poll. Thanks! http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2008...ore_pay-2.html