In the years since the COVID-19 pandemic, all eyes have been on the healthcare worker shortage. 

By 2028, the American Hospital Association expects that there will be a deficit of 100,000 critical healthcare roles across the country. And when healthcare workers are stretched too thin, we often see burnout, employee retention issues, and diminished patient safety. 

Much of the focus of the labor shortage has been on nurses, who often provide the most direct care for patients. Other key hospital staff members, like EVS workers and certified nurse assistants, are also fewer and farther between. But there’s one group of healthcare workers that have been left out of the conversation entirely: EMS professionals. 

With the healthcare system as a whole suffering under labor shortages, it begs the question — is there a shortage of EMTs? And what can we do to increase the EMS workforce and retain current EMTs? 

The Healthcare Labor Problem 

Fewer healthcare workers lead to higher rates of negative outcomes for patients, as the available nurses, doctors, CNAs, and EVS teams are overextended beyond their means.

In the hospital setting, this often looks like increased rates of HAIs, patient falls, and pressure injuries. In fact, a recent study by the NIH found that patients were 15% more likely to develop an HAI in units understaffed with RNs. 

With fewer nurses on staff, the remaining nurses and CNAs must round on increased patient loads, leaving them with less time to spend on direct care with each individual patient. In their hurry to make sure everyone gets some direct care, things slip through the cracks, often resulting in patient injuries.

Working with reduced EVS teams also results in potential spikes in HAIs. Tasked with cleaning and disinfecting the same square footage with reduced staffing levels, remaining EVS teams may rush through a terminal cleaning, missing key disinfection standards. This is not the fault of the EVS team but rather the system that doesn’t provide them adequate teams and tools to get the job done. 

And while we can track the direct effect of labor shortages on patient care in the hospital, it’s concerning that we have so little information about patient care in emergency vehicles. If we have fewer EMTs available to work, are emergency services reaching patients in time? Are the remaining EMTs also overworked and burnt out? 

What’s causing the healthcare labor shortage? 

The healthcare labor crisis creates a vicious cycle, in which reduced healthcare staff results in worsening conditions for existing healthcare workers who, in turn, leave the profession. 

Burnout

By and large, healthcare workers report experiencing burnout as a result of their increased workloads, lack of support, and decline in their ability to provide direct care. 

As a result of both the physical and mental anguish of working through the COVID-19 pandemic, the healthcare industry saw a significant spike of 46% of healthcare workers reporting feelings of burnout in 2022, up from 32% in 2018.

The issue of burnout begets more burnout. With staffing levels dwindling, there is an increased pressure on existing workers to take more shifts and care for larger numbers of patients.

Illness

It’s not just that healthcare workers are leaving the profession — the remaining staff are still human and vulnerable to infectious diseases.

Healthcare staff are frequently exposed to pathogens that result in infections, causing them to take more frequent sick days and further reducing the number of available healthcare workers. Or worse, they feel pressured to work while sick, potentially infecting fellow staff and patients. 

Are EMS agencies experiencing the same? 

Absolutely. Much like the healthcare workers in hospitals and acute care centers, EMS workers are also experiencing the burnout and increased risk of infection that comes with such a demanding career path, but no one seems to be talking about it.

Due to the many agencies providing EMS across the country (including municipal-funded, hospital-owned, non-profits, and for-profit organizations), there isn’t one centralized source of truth about EMS workers. Now, however, EMS professionals are making their own voices heard.

EMS workers are actively striving for better working conditions and protections for their profession. The EMS Workers United branch of the AFSCME labor union is one of the fastest growing unions in the country, and they’re pointing out the lack of resources, high rates of burnout, and limited training that EMS professionals have access to. 

According to EMS Workers United, “[EMTs and paramedics] often face serious challenges delivering the high-quality care our patients need while working in a system that runs [them] ragged.” 

And they’re not wrong. While we don’t have infection rate data for EMS professionals, we know that they are more likely to be colonized with MRSA than the general population. In a 2019 study, 6.4% of all EMS professionals tested positive for MRSA colonization, which puts their patients, their families, and themselves at higher risk of contracting MRSA. Yet some EMS agencies do not even provide health insurance to their employees.

How to Support the EMS Labor Force

The best way to support all healthcare workers, from the EMS team to the head surgeon, is simple: provide healthcare workers with supportive, safe work environments.

One of EMS Workers United’s key goals is to improve equipment and training for EMS workers overcome the challenge of infection prevention inside emergency vehicles, including better IP education, personal protective equipment, and disinfection technology. With these stronger protections against pathogens lurking inside emergency vehicles, EMS workers could provide better care to patients while protecting themselves. 

At Nevoa, we believe EMS teams should have access to quick, easy-to-use disinfection methods that can make the ambulance a safer work environment. Our handheld Stratus fogger quickly disinfects emergency vehicles between cases, so that the paramedics and patients inside are better protected from infectious diseases, even when they only have a few minutes between calls. Our powerful Microburst disinfectant eliminates pathogens without causing damage to delicate equipment, and the fogging system provides more effective cleaning of the myriad hard-to-reach areas found in emergency vehicles. 

As EMS workers push for better protections for their profession, we want to be part of the solution. Reach out to us to learn more about Nevoa.