Plan to add part-time EMTs, paramedics OK’d

A plan to hire part-time paramedics and emergency medical technicians to help fill shifts during the day was unanimously approved by the Port Washington Common Council Dec. 17.

The measure is one way the department can ensure it has enough EMTs and paraprofessionals to fill its daytime shifts during the week, when it’s often difficult to schedule on-call workers, Fire Chief Mark Mitchell told aldermen.

“We’re looking at a creative way to fill our shifts,” Mitchell said. “We’re seeing a decline in our on-call EMTs. It’s becoming harder and harder to find people to commit to the time it takes.”

The plan, which was proposed by Mitchell and endorsed by the Police and Fire Commission, would pay part-time firefighter/EMTs and firefighter/paramedics to be in the fire station during specific shifts, unlike the current system where they are paid while on calls.

Mitchell noted that several area communities have successfully implemented a paid-on-premises plan, including Grafton and Mequon.

“The departments that are doing this are picking up individuals who are full-time with other departments and are looking at part-time work,” he said.

In addition to ensuring the department has coverage throughout the day, Mitchell said, the plan will also cut the response time.

When a call comes in, EMTs won’t be heading from their home to the firehouse and then out to the call, he said. They will already be at the fire station and can leave from there.

That’s important in a medical emergency.  Currently, the department’s response time is five to six minutes, and this plan could potentially drop that to two minutes.

Stroke patients, for example, lose as many as 1.9 million brain cells every minute they go untreated, according to materials distributed by Mitchell, and the probability of survival for people having a heart attack decreases 1% to 10% every minute they go without CPR and defibrillation.

“This is better service,” Mayor Marty Becker said.

The proposed pay scale varies by the person’s expertise, from $11 an hour for EMTs to $16 for firefighter/paramedics.

The increased cost to the department is expected to be minimal, with department officials estimating the annual cost of covering one weekday shift with  a paid-on-call paramedic would be $46,000 vs. $50,000 for a paid-on-premises firefighter/paramedic.

That works out to $1.22 an hour, Mitchell said.

There is money in the budget to cover the cost, he said.

Mitchell said he still will seek to supplement his current workforce with two full-time firefighter/paramedic positions in the coming years.

The department currently has two full-time positions — the chief and one firefighter/paramedic — but having three full-time paramedics would guarantee paramedic coverage around the clock.

“My ultimate goal is still to get two more full-time positions,” Mitchell said. “We’re not sure this (paid-on-premises plan) is going to be the end-all for us.”