FLORENCE COUNTY, SC (WMBF) – Last week Florence County Council approved updates that will benefit Emergency Medical Services. Florence County EMS Director, Ryon Watkins said EMS receives 18 thousand calls a year, breaking down to almost 50 calls-a-day.
Watkins said even though the average response time is around ten minutes, the agency is experiencing problems. "We find that our people are overworked," said Watkins.
Last year brought high turnover to the EMS team. Watkins said 15 responders left the squad to find a more flexible job setting, many of whom are now working for private medical facilities and hospitals.
City Council was first informed of the over-workload of EMS responders last year. According to Watkins, right now responders work approximately 57 hours-per-week, spread out over three 24 hour shifts.
By the end of the summer a fourth shift will be created, 15 more people will be added to the team, and working hours for responders are expected to drop to 46 hours-per-week. Watkins said he is looking to mainly hire paramedics and that current responders are thrilled with the updates.
"They view the addition of this fourth shift as a huge morale booster," said Watkins.
The new updates will be paid-for out of the current $4 million budget allotted for EMS. Next year, the county is expecting to add an additional $300 thousand to the budget to maintain improvements.
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