EMS director brings to light staffing concerns

Staffing has become a concern for Pulaski County EMS, so much that EMS Director Natasha Daugherty is faced with the decision of shutting down a truck. The information was brought to the Pulaski County Council during a regular meeting on Monday, Dec. 9. Daugherty advised that it takes 12 people to completely fill their staffing roster and they are currently three EMTs down. To address the problem, she told the council that she would like to look into adjusting her matrix to a higher competitive wage. She has conducted a cost analysis within the surrounding areas and she said they are about $2 too low on their EMT wages. Her proposal to the council was to raise the EMT raise to $15.60, advanced EMT to $16.90, the paramedic wage to $20.80 and the director's wage to $26 per hour.