Emergency responders badly need our help
Emergency responders are heroes who walk among us. They are the lifelines for people who are facing catastrophic illness or injury. Our survival can often depend on the training they have received and the grace under pressure they exude.
But emergency medical services (EMS) is an industry in crisis, both in Connecticut and across the country. There are not enough people in the field right now to meet the growing demand, and it is difficult to convince people to enter into a field where the hours are long, the pay is substandard and the situation is often one of life or death.
At a recent event at the University of Saint Joseph in West Hartford, a brilliant new documentary by former “60 Minutes” Producer Bryony Gilbey named, “Honorable But Broken: EMS in Crisis” was aired, with a panel discussion that followed consisting of state lawmakers and EMS workers.
At one point in the documentary, an ambulance worker looks into the camera and states the truth plainly: “We want people to know that this is a crisis that they need to pay attention to.”
Where do we go from here? How do we protect this vital, life-saving service before it gets too late?
So much of it comes down to enticing and training the newest crop of potential emergency responders to enter the field in the first place. This means making the training accessible while still being as comprehensive as possible.
Our company, VRSim of East Hartford, is launching a new product which creates intricate and immersive virtual reality training simulations for emergency responders. Rather than learning from a book or working on a training mannequin, these simulations immerse the person directly into an emergency situation — a car accident, a drug overdose, a heart attack in a public place, even an emergency birth. They are based on national training standards, and provide immediate feedback that grades the performance. This is a newer and better way of learning, and our company and others have found great success in using this approach in a variety of skilled trades.
It also means recognizing that this industry needs more support from all of us, and that these incredible public servants deserve to earn a living that is commensurate with the high-risk, high-stress field in which they are choosing to enter. This is a profession that deals entirely in, as one EMS worker very poignantly says in the documentary, the world of “what ifs.” And none of us want to imagine a world where a 9-1-1 call for emergency medical service isn’t answered on time.
Despite best efforts of emergency personnel everywhere, that happens. Even in a small state like Connecticut, socalled “ambulance deserts” exist in certain rural parts of the state, where finding coverage is an increasingly difficult challenge. Reimbursement rates remain problematic, and that Connecticut currently sits at 46th of the 50 states in terms of per capita spending on EMS is a glaring statistic that should be concerning to all.
There is good news on the horizon. A number of Connecticut lawmakers—including state Senators Saud Anwar (South Windsor) and Martha Marx (New London) and state Representatives Jill Barry (Glastonbury) and Jeff Currey (East Hartford) — have stepped forward and said they want to help. Each of them understand the need for more EMS workers and have pledged their support to work towards an appropriate solution. These are the commitments and conversations we need to have in order to enact true change.
Speaking about her documentary, Bryony Gilbert said, “It does no good any longer just throwing up your hands and saying, ‘That’s the way EMS is.’ It’s no good saying it’s somebody else’s problem. It’s something that we all need to work on; as a civilized society we need to address this issue, and we need to do it quickly.”
She is 100% correct. This industry gives too much of itself for us to let it continue to struggle. I am grateful so many lawmakers and local officials are not only acknowledging the crisis, but standing ready to help. Our EMS workers deserve nothing less.
Matthew Wallace is the CEO for VRSim in East Hartford, which designs VR and simulation-based systems to train workers in the skilled trades, including industrial welding and painting, certified nursing assistants and emergency medical responders.