What happened: Jeff Davis County (Texas) EMS Chief Peggy Fonseca was dismissed and escorted out of the courtroom by law enforcement following a period of political discord over EMS staffing and budget concerns. County commissioners criticized Fonseca for personally responding to ambulance calls, to which she replied it was necessary due to staffing shortages.
The case highlights nationwide challenges in balancing volunteer and paid EMS services.
| More: Texas officials fire EMS director over lack of volunteers, OT costs and responding to calls
Top takeaways
- Budget concerns: Peggy Fonseca was fired due to budget overages associated with a hybrid volunteer and paid staffing model
- Previous incident: Fonseca was previously reprimanded for failing to administer CPR, but returned to duty after remediation
- Staffing shortages: A significant drop in volunteerism is causing increased reliance on paid staff, leading to higher costs
- National issue: The challenges faced in Jeff Davis County reflect broader problems across the U.S., including low wages for EMS workers and insufficient funding
- Call for action: There is a need for state or federal intervention to address EMS staffing shortages and funding issues.
Memorable quotes
- “If we don’t have enough providers, we’re not going to be able to get out to the calls that we want. And if we can’t get out to the calls, people are not going to get better and people are going to die over it.”
- “Increasing the paid staff is obviously going to increase the need for funding and for money.”
- “If we’re going to continue to provide these services, something that we’re going to have to start to realize and accept is that EMS as a service cannot be a money-making entity.”
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