Livingston County sees 10% increase in calls for emergency services
Livingston County officials say they are seeing more 911 calls, and there isn't a clear reason for this.
EMS director Dave Feldpausch says calls are up 10%.
"There isn't, like a certain demographic or a certain day of the week. There isn't a certain location, there isn't a certain time. It's just kind of an overall increase," Feldpausch said. "I know it was kind of a rough flu, cold, and flu season, so I'm assuming that's a portion of why maybe our January, February, or early March were really up, but that would be my best guess at this point."
Feldpausch said the county is looking to hire four more EMTs to keep up with the calls. The county Board of Commissioners has already approved the four EMT positions, which Feldpausch hopes to hire in the coming weeks.
"It's a challenge trying to hire and onboard good people. It's an even greater challenge if you ever have to downsize, which I hope I never have to do," he said.
Feldpausch noted there is currently a nationwide shortage of paramedics and EMTs, but the county has a well-developed training program. He said that having four more EMTs on the job means they can run another whole ambulance in the county.
"We have really good programs that draw people in, and we've done pretty well at recruiting and retaining employees," he said. "We're probably looking at July 1 before they really can impact the operation in any real, meaningful way."
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