I’ve had the honor of knowing and working with Chief Schaeffer for many years – he’s showing true leadership here, as usual, making data-driven decisions!
Note the transition of some ALS units to BLS units, and the reduction of fire department responses to some non-life-threatening calls.
Also note this accurate statement in his memo: “The lack of paramedics is not unique to SFD. In fact, the entire U.S. Fire Service is suffering the same challenges, and we are all trying to navigate this difficult reality.”
This is not an issue with any one provider type - fire-based, 3rd service governmental, private, hospital-based – we are all facing the same reality.
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Spokane Fire Department announces changes to paramedic units, staffing
Will Wixey
Jul 18, 2023
https://www.kxly.com/news/spokane-fire-department-announces-changes-to-paramedic-units-staffing/article_7967d3a2-25cf-11ee-8a49-ffb697daa89f.html
SPOKANE, Wash. -- Due to a severe shortage of paramedics, the Spokane Fire Department announced it's making changes to its system.
The department says it's relocating some units for non-life-threatening emergencies.
Spokane Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer says this change will widen the geography for paramedic units and shouldn't impact life-saving care.
Schaeffer says the department will continue to evaluate outcomes as the changes are rolled out.
Schaeffer says paramedics are currently working overtime too much, and it’s not sustainable, leading to burnout and major overtime costs.
"We're redeploying our paramedics and they're covering a larger geographical area, and at the same time we're reducing the number of non-life-threatening calls that we're going to," said Spokane Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer.
The department aims to implement these changes in mid-August.
