Atchison County EMS reports 2024 call volume rise; director urges discussion on staffing and pay
Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts
Sign Up Free
Summary
Corey Scott, EMS director, reported a rise of about 202 calls year-over-year and longer out-of-county times; he recommended the commission consider additional staffing or pay increases to address workload and retention.
Corey Scott, Atchison County EMS director, presented the service's 2024 response report and told the commission the service handled roughly 202 more calls than the previous year and that total call volume is about 862 calls higher than when county-run service began in 2017.
Scott highlighted response-time improvements and credited crews for better performance. He said the service is handling more interfacility transfers and longer transport distances: transfers rose to about 100 in 2024 and the share of transfers going to Saint Joseph, Missouri dropped from 47% in 2017 to 31.8% in 2024, reflecting longer-distance transports to additional hospitals. Scott said ambulances were out of the county "15 and a half more days in 2024 than they were in 2017," which increases overtime, fuel, and maintenance costs.
Scott told commissioners the ambulance workforce has grown only modestly while calls increased 45-47% since 2017; the service moved from staffing five people at all times to six, plus chief-level coverage. He said adding three full-time equivalents would allow running a consistently staffed fourth ambulance but would create facility- and cost challenges; alternatively adding a smaller number of staff would allow reintroducing the paramedic "fly car" to provide assessment flexibility.
Scott also addressed earlier public discussion about ventilators. He said modified hospital ventilators were never placed on county ambulances and that the service would not use modified FDA-regulated devices; instead, the county purchased ventilators for each ambulance with grant funding and crews completed training. Scott said he and the county physician will develop protocols for new ventilators before putting them in service.
Why it matters: Rising call volume, longer transports and fatigue threaten staffing and response capacity. Scott urged the commission to consider whether to expand staffing or increase pay to retain paramedics and cover operational costs. Scott emphasized safety of crews and patients and said any staffing expansion would have significant payroll and benefit costs and could require facility expansion.
Commissioners thanked Scott for the report and discussed next steps; Scott said decisions on staffing levels and pay adjustments will be for the commission to weigh in future budget discussions.