Eubanks said that this affected his crew as an increase in runs and a lack of hospital beds would often leave them and their patients waiting up to one to two hours a run until the patients could be admitted .
“ We ’ ve had increases in runs , a shortage in staff and a lot of extra steps to go through over the past two and a half years with COVID , but even when times are hard they are still running call after call and ready to take the next one .”
The most common calls answered by the Somerset-Pulaski EMS have been general medical runs , which can be anything from fevers to abdominal pains . However , Eubanks added that recently they have seen an increase in COVID-19 related calls throughout the region .
Eubanks said the biggest challenge his EMS team is facing is the shortage in staff for EMTs and paramedics .
34 Commonwealth Journal - Unsung Heroes - 2022