Amid EMT shortage, new agency to help staff ambulance corps

DERBY — A new EMS staffing agency recently partnered with the Storm Ambulance Corps in Derby to help provide paid EMTs as the corps responds to an increase in emergency calls.

“We're anticipating approximately 15 employees to help fill the amount of positions and shifts that the chief is asking us to cover for them,” said Tom Varanelli, co-founder of Northeast Fire-Rescue.

Both Northeast FireRescue and the Ambulance Corps said the additional staff will help the corps improve its response times. Other municipalities, Varanelli said, are experiencing similar issues finding qualified staff.

The ambulance corps announced the partnership on May 14, but Chief Javonte Ramos said the decision to partner with a new staffing agency came earlier since their current staffing partner wasn't able to provide enough staffing to meet its needs.

“We think that they're going to provide the services that we need to the membership and to the community,” Ramos said.

While the ambulance corps has 69 members on its roster, Ramos said there are 25 current active members.

Varanelli said Northeast Fire-Rescue, which is based in Harwington, is currently interviewing candidates for the corps' open positions. Ramos said the ambulance corps expects successful candidates to start by July 1, but said because some shifts are not being covered, they may start earlier based on need.

The contract between Storm Ambulance Corps and Northeast Fire-Rescue is for three years with the option to continue it for an additional year. But Ramos said the corps has used a staffing agency for 20 years.

Derby isn't the only municipality having a hard time hiring EMTs, Varanelli said.

“And COVID was almost the straw that broke the camel's back in many senses of the way. That catapulted many organizations to need additional staffing or search for additional staffing,” Varanelli said.

While the ambulance corps serves Derby, the corps isn't a government body and only gets some money from the city, Ramos said.

“One thing that people don't realize sometimes is that we're a separate entity. We're not the fire department. It's two completely separate organizations. We do appreciate any of the funding that the city gives us. It gets us through but all of our revenue is based off of billing and fundraising,” Ramos said.

The Storm Ambulance Corps is made up of volunteers and while the fire department does assist on emergency calls, Ramos said not all firefighters are EMT certified. The need for more EMTs increases as the summer months get nearer, Ramos said. More people are out, either driving or doing outdoor activities which increases the likelihood of an accident. But while Ramos said the current provider isn't able to source enough EMTs for Derby, he said that also has to do with the overall hiring environment.

“A lot of agencies are struggling not only for volunteers, but just for paid EMTs as well. I think it's just the environment that we're in. I don't really know the exact reason, but I think it's just hard to find help anywhere you go. Right now, it doesn't matter if it's EMS or any type of organization,” he said.

Varanelli said he is trying to increase EMT pay.

“We're actually in the process of looking to increase the pay to a higher wage than what was previously being allocated or provided to the EMTs down here. We're really trying to encourage performance evaluation and incentivize those employees who will go above and beyond and who are really serving the community in the best capacity,” Varanelli said..

The additional help, EMS Captain Chris Jensen said, will do well with the volunteers.

“Our volunteers work well with the paid staff,” Jensen said.