EMS presents rising call volumes and asks for 27 EMTs, 5 paramedics to restore unit‑hour targets

Sedgwick County EMS leaders told the commission their system faces sustained growth in demand and limited staffing flexibility. EMS reported 75,424 requests for service in 2025 and said call volume has increased about 5% per year in recent years. Staff explained unit‑hour utilization (UHU) as their primary operational metric and said an ideal UHU target for this mixed urban/rural system is about 0.4–0.48 to balance availability and workforce fatigue.

EMS presenters said projected 2027 call volumes (with continued growth) would push UHU to roughly 0.56 if no new staff were added, eroding availability and increasing overtime reliance. Their staffing request seeks to add 27 EMT FTEs—enough to staff six additional 12‑hour peak ambulances—and five paramedic FTEs to replace overtime staffing of community‑response vehicles.

Staff described a phased approach rather than an immediate full stand‑up, suggested leveraging existing dual‑bay stations and using open bays where possible to limit immediate capital needs, and said they will provide fiscal notes (operational costs, equipment, vehicle implications) as part of March decision packages.

What happens next: EMS will supply the commission with detailed fiscal notes on compensation, vehicle and operating costs; commissioners asked for additional performance reporting on first‑responder arrival times and comparisons that include fire‑department first responders as part of the overall response system.

Why it matters: EMS staffing affects response times and workforce sustainability; commissioners said they want to preserve recent staffing stability while understanding tradeoffs if state levy caps constrain growth.