Latest news with #Dixson
Boston Globe
12 hours ago
- Health
- Boston Globe
Mass. EMS bills a first step to speed up ambulances and save lives
'The EMS system in our state is broken,' Feeley testified Wednesday at a hearing on the Legislature's Joint Committee on Public Health. 'Unfortunately, I witnessed its failures firsthand.' An EMT at the hearing teared up listening to Feeley's testimony during the hearing that addressed several pending bills related to local public health and emergency services. Advertisement Some municipalities, such as Boston, are large enough that they operate their own EMS services. However, around 80 percent of the state's licensed ambulances are operated by private companies that bid for the right to serve each town's population, the Globe Those private companies have not been able to hire and maintain adequate staff, which has led to ambulance delays, according to the Globe's coverage. The state also doesn't have a centralized system to coordinate ambulances and send them to another town in case of a shortage. A slate of bills intends to address the delays, most notably by designating EMS as an Advertisement Other legislation would set up a Other bills discussed at the hearing propose requiring that all 911 dispatchers in the state be trained to instruct people how to do CPR over the phone and creating a database that lists defibrillators across the state. The bill to make EMS an essential service proposes creating a fund to support EMS agencies and pay for things such as training, equipment, vehicles, and personnel salaries. Representative Leigh Davis, a Democrat of Great Barrington, who sponsored the bill said that for too long, EMS has been underfunded and is not always covered by patients' insurance. 'In 1973, the federal EMS Act left it up to the states to fund EMS, never recognizing it as an essential service,' Davis said. 'Unlike police and fire, there's no guaranteed funding, just donations, inconsistent local budgets, and low insurance reimbursement rates.' Mike Woronka, chief executive officer of Action Ambulance, a private company, said that as baby boomers retire, his company has found it difficult to fill EMS positions, making existing employees' jobs harder. 'We are beyond the crisis stage, it is affecting our staff, and it's affecting the residents of this Commonwealth,' Woronka said. Tina Dixson, an advanced EMT who has worked for 27 years in the Central Massachusetts towns of Hubbardston and Holden said she supports the bill to create a special commission on EMS. Advertisement 'If you pictured an EMT in a neatly pressed uniform, working … with the calmness and precision of a NASCAR pit crew, but with the bedside manner of Mr. Rogers, that isn't always the case,' Dixson said, 'We need a lot of assistance with some of the things in these bills.' Dixson also spoke in favor of bills creating a database for defibrillators so that people can locate one close to them in cases of emergency. Matt Zavadsky, a past president of the National Association of EMTs, said he supports the designation of EMS as an essential service, but noted the bill does not identify a funding source. Zavadsky said that it would be better for the state to designate EMS an essential service, and require localities to fund operations based on their own needs. 'Should the state set a standard that in rural areas in the Berkshires the response time should be 12 minutes?' Zavadsky said. 'And do they pick the provider they're going to contract with to provide that service? … It [should be] up to the local community to decide that.' For the bill proposing a pilot program for EMS workers to treat people 'in place,' Zavadsky said there needs to be an emphasis requiring insurers pay for treatment in place as opposed to only covering transportation to a hospital. 'Treatment in place is already proven, there's enough data out there to show that it's safe and it saves money,' he said. 'Payment models drive clinical practice, so we need the bill to require that insurers pay for treatment in place.' Angela Mathew can be reached at
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Santa Fe Chamber presents annual Business Expo at convention center
More than 130 booths — many of them offering interactive elements — will be featured Thursday when the Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce presents its 2025 Business Expo at the Santa Fe Community Convention Center. The free event, from 3 to 6 p.m. at the convention center, 201 W. Marcy St., typically attracts more than 1,000 visitors, said Bridget Dixson, the chamber's president and CEO. 'I expect it to be even bigger this year,' Dixson said, citing the addition of two new attractions at the event, which has been presented by the chamber for more than 25 years. Those new attractions include a section devoted to Feria Mercado vendors, a group of south-side merchants and artists. The event also will offer a family-friendly corridor with children's activities and free child care. The Santa Fam website — which serves as a resource for fun, free or affordable activities for parents with small children in the city — will be holding a first birthday party for its Coffee & Crying group during the expo. The event also includes a bug show presented by the Santa Fe Bug and Reptile Museum, a concert and a performance by Belisama Irish Dance. Dixson said the chamber has been encouraging local businesses to be more responsive to the needs and wants of patrons with children for the past couple of years, especially after a recent study found Santa Fe was losing business to surrounding communities that offer more family-friendly entertainment options. 'That's really important,' she said, adding family-friendly options send a message to the community that Santa Fe is committed to recruiting and retaining young families. The number of booths included in this year's expo is the most since before the COVID-19 pandemic, Dixson said. Booth operators have been encouraged to offer hands-on experiences to visitors in an effort to engage them directly. The expo used to be an all-day event, she said, but it has been compacted into just three hours in recent years because so many business owners and managers continue to experience staffing issues, even with the pandemic long over. Along with serving as a significant networking opportunity, Dixson said the expo will offer participating businesses that fill out a vending form the chance to sell their goods or services directly to visitors. It also serves as a chance for employers to reach out to potential new workers, she said. 'This is a great opportunity to bring together entrepreneurs, small business owners and community leaders into one group,' Dixson said.
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Santa Fe city, county minimum hourly wage jumps to $15 this weekend
While the minimum wage for the city of Santa Fe and Santa Fe County is due to go up on Saturday, the annual increase will be the smallest in four years. This year's 40-cent increase, from $14.60 to $15 an hour, will be the least the minimum wage has gone up since 2021, when it increased from $12.10 to $12.32. The minimum wage — or 'living wage,' as Santa Fe city and county officials refer to it — increased by 57 cents last year, $1.08 in 2023 and 63 cents in 2022. Before 2021, increases of 40 cents or less per year were the norm. The minimum wage for tipped workers in the city and county will increase from $4.38 to $4.50 on Saturday. Bridget Dixson, president and CEO of the Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce, acknowledged that this year's increase would be relatively small. But she said its impact on her members definitely would be felt. 'I think it's a little bit easier lift than in the past,' she said. 'But our businesses are really dealing with a lot right now. Crime has increased. They need an opportunity to find their footing.' Dixson said many of her members are concerned about some of the measures state lawmakers are considering this session, including a bill that would raise the tax on alcohol. 'Businesses are getting hit in so many areas,' she said. Dixson said her organization does not do any outreach to alert its members to the annual minimum wage increase, but she said that is probably something it should be doing. 'Honestly, we're so focused on advocating for our businesses at the Legislature, we haven't done that,' she said. Beginning in 2015, both the city and county began adjusting their minimum wage each year based on the previous year's increase, if any, in the Consumer Price Index for the Western Region for urban wage earners and clerical workers. County officials said the CPI increase for 2024 was 2.76%. The city passed a law adjusting its minimum wage requirements based on the rate of inflation in 2007, while the county did likewise in 2015. When the city's minimum wage ordinance took effect in 2008, it effectively made Santa Fe a national leader in the living wage movement, which was initiated to supersede the federal minimum wage on a local or statewide basis. Johanna Nelson, Santa Fe's economic development director, did not respond to an emailed list of questions about the minimum wage increase. Historically, the federal minimum wage has remained static for many years at a time. It was increased to $7.25 an hour in 2009 but has not gone up since then. Over time, Santa Fe's status as a national leader in the movement has eroded significantly. Even with this weekend's planned increase, the city will rank far below many others in the size of its minimum wage. In fact, the five cities with the highest minimum wage are all in Washington state — Burien ($21.16 for large companies, $20.16 for medium companies), Tukwila ($21.10 and $20.10), Renton ($20.90 and 18.90), Seattle ($20.76 for all companies) and SeaTac ($20.17 for hospitality and transportation workers, $20.10 for medium companies). Washington leads all states in the nation with a mandated minimum wage of $16.66. Santa Fe also trails several large cities around the country, including Denver ($18.81); San Francisco ($18.67); San Jose, Calif. ($17.95); Washington, D.C. ($17.50), New York City ($16.50) and Chicago ($16.20). New Mexico's statewide $12-an-hour minimum wage also trails various other states, including California ($16.50); Connecticut ($16.35); New York ($15.50); New Jersey ($15.13); and Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Illinois, Maryland and Delaware ($15). Among neighboring states, Colorado has a minimum wage of $14.81, while the rate in Arizona is $14.70. New Mexico lawmakers are considering a measure that would increase the statewide minimum wage to $17 an hour, which would apply to tipped workers, as well. If it is passed, that would vault the state to the top of the national list.
