Hearing called by state officials examines EMS crisis in region
The EMS crisis in Pennsylvania, fueled by higher costs, lower reimbursements from insurance companies, and a steep decline in enrolling new EMTs, is headed for a tipping point soon unless legislative action is taken.
That was the conclusion of a hearing of the House Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee, called by state Reps. Christina Sappey and John Lawrence, both of Chester County. They had requested the hearing after a briefing from West Grove Fire Company on the impact of hospital closures last November.
“We are seeing emergency ambulance organizations close their doors because they can no longer afford the cost to provide emergency 911 ambulance service,” said Don Lynch, chief director of operations at Harleysville Area EMS. “One of the reasons for this is the low and fixed reimbursement models for services from insurance companies and Medicare and Medicaid.”
Lynch said that EMS service may be unsustainable in the near future if the trend continues
“It is my belief that EMS is on a steady and foreseen path of sustainability for the past several years, only to find ourselves now in a true state of crisis,” he said. “I do not believe COVID-19 pandemic is the primary cause of the crisis. I believe the COVID-19 pandemic exasperated the day-to-day struggle that many EMS organizations are finding themselves in financial hardship. We are experiencing personal shortages like we have never seen before.”
Testifiers shared the severe challenges they currently face, such as recruitment and retention of personnel, funding shortfalls, inadequate Medicaid reimbursements and billing constraints, hospital emergency room protocols, and COVID-19 challenges to the EMS system.
Neil Vaughn, president of the West Grove Fire Company, said the EMS crisis seen across the state, combined with the closure of two Chester County hospitals, has increased first responder burnout and emergency response time.
“As a county, it took us from five hospitals to three; two of the three hospitals that we now go to on a regular basis are now outside the commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” Vaughn said. “Our transport times — to understand a transport time, that’s the amount of time it takes us to leave the scene and arrive at the hospital — was typically eight minutes, that’s now expanded to thirty to 40 minutes. Our turnaround times — that’s the time that we arrive at the hospital and then we’re available to go into service for the next call — that went from 13 minutes to roughly an hour.”
“I am grateful to our committee chairs, Rep. Karen Boback and Rep. Chris Sainato for holding this hearing to bring attention to this very serious situation,” Sappey said. “During an emergency, every second counts. We rely on highly trained professionals to respond quickly, and our companies are increasingly challenged to provide this service. We should all be very concerned about this. I look forward to working with my colleagues to create solutions that address the EMS crisis.”
Providing testimony at the hearing were the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Bureau of EMS, Ambulance Association of Pennsylvania, Hospital Association of Pennsylvania, Harleysville Area EMS, County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania, West Grove Fire Company, Office of Emergency Services, County of Cameron, West Hempfield Township, Pennsylvania Fire & Emergency Services Institute, Cetronia Ambulance Corps and the PA State Association of Township Supervisors.