HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Although COVID-19 is not as hot of a topic as it was even a month ago, it's still here.
Ever since the pandemic started emergency rooms and hospitals have been overwhelmed. Now, two years into this pandemic, emergency rooms and hospitals still face this issue and this is even happening here - in your own backyard.
"Many days, they're just responding to one call after another, as soon as they can clear from the hospital, they're assigned their next call. I think that's a consistent model that we have heard and seen in other communities as well, as we've talked to our colleagues across North Alabama and the state," said HEMSI CEO, Jon M. Howell.
Contrary to popular belief and especially now, calling for an ambulance will not give you any type of upper hand.
"We're not going to give you an advantage to get into the hospital emergency room any faster if you have a low acuity illness or injury," said Howell. "We are transporting people daily and if their conditions warrant - they are taken into triage and assessed by the nurse and if their condition warrants - they may wait in the waiting room of the hospital emergency department for a period of time until a bed opens up. So just calling an ambulance is not going to get you seen any faster, it's all going to be based upon your condition."
This is not a letter of rejection from emergency medical services like HEMSI or the ER, if you need medical help, seek it, but be aware that you'll have to answer questions so that EMS can properly prioritize patients.
"So do call us when you're- when you are you or a family member has a serious illness or has had an injury but if it's a chronic condition, and you just decided this is a good day to go to the hospital, ems may not be the mechanism that's best to get you there," said Howell.
Both medical facilities like hospitals and emergency medical services like ambulances are feeling the effects of the nationwide staffing shortage.
"We already have a workforce shortage in our community that we've been working hard as a community to overcome and so in particular with health care, some great challenges now," said Crestwood Medical Center CEO, Pam Hudson.
"We are not unlike our health care provider partners at hospitals and really any other industry right now. We cannot hire enough workers and that's leaving us a little bit short-staffed and some days we can field as many ambulances as we would like," said Howell.
Although there are various challenges when it comes to working in the medical field, especially now, there are also a lot of perks...
"We're still operating our EMS Academy to bring people in and provide them an EMS education while they're on our own on salary with us and provide them an income while they're going to school. And we have those opportunities available as well as opportunities for EMTs paramedics and communication specialists at our dispatch center all available," said Howell.
Both of these officials agree that although we are facing unprecedented times, there is no time like now to start your career in the medical industry.
"The pandemic is an interesting wrinkle and we will get this to where it becomes an endemic issue and not with these huge surges," said Hudson.
"This is an unprecedented period and what great opportunity for you to get in on this and experience it and you know, be able to say I was there and I helped with that period of time, that someday your grandchildren may be reading about in an old textbook or something, I hope so. We hope that those people who want to serve in their community will continue to come forward and help us take care of the community and take care of the communities health," said Howell.