This episode of EMS One-Stop with Rob Lawrence is brought to you by Lexipol, the experts in policy, training, wellness support and grants assistance for first responders and government leaders. To learn more, visit lexipol.com. 

Like many other states across the U.S., California’s ambulance services are both understaffed and underfunded.  In what has turned into a vicious circle, poor reimbursement levels hamper the employers’ ability to increase pay and compete with other sectors that offer better hourly rates for less risky or skilled employment. In fact, California has not had an increase in its Medi-Cal (Medicaid) rate in 20 years.

As part of the ongoing legislative campaign, California’s ambulance service owners and operators have created a coalition with all the labor unions that represent EMS in the state to campaign for increases.

In this episode of EMS One-Stop, both labor and leadership sit down with Rob Lawrence to discuss politics, funding and working as a team.

About our guests

Melissa Harris - president and CEO of Ambuserve Ambulance, Medic1 Ambulance and Shoreline Ambulance; and board member and treasurer of the California Ambulance Association

Shelly Huddleson - national labor representative for the International Association of EMTs and Paramedics

Chad Druten - COO Emergency Ambulance Service based in Brea, California; president of the Los Angeles County Ambulance Association, president of the Ambulance Association of Orange County

Ryan Walters - president of IAEP Local 370 representing EMTs and paramedics working at Falck in Orange County and Los Angeles

Jim Karras - vice president and chief operating officer of Ambuserve Ambulance, Medic1 Ambulance and Shoreline Ambulance; vice president, Los Angeles County Ambulance Association; and secretary of the Ambulance Association of Orange County

Top quotes from this episode

“EMTs are one missed shift away from poverty. This is the industry I love. I’ve seen people leave, people that I wish we could hold on to, but they have to provide for their families.” — Ryan Walters

“Unlike the In and Outs, the Jack in the Boxes, the Del Tacos who can raise their prices to meet the escalating minimum wage and escalating inflationary pressures that they are feeling, we don’t have the ability to do that. Our rates are set for us by the government and by government payers and they are capped and in some cases, they are fixed, so we are beholden to the State of California to help us and give us some relief.” — Jim Karras

“If we don’t do something soon with our Medi-Cal rates, then our EMS system is going to implode, it’s going to implode because our ambulance companies are either going to stop taking these Medi-Cal patients because they can’t afford them and so who is going to take care of them or they are going to start shutting their doors. When they shut their doors, our members lose jobs.” — Shelly Huddleson

“The patient is the one that’s most important here, the medical recipient, they are the ones that stand to lose the most and they are the only reason we exist, they are the only reason any of us have jobs and we can’t lose sight of that, so we are not just advocating for our industry, we are advocating for the citizens of California.” — Chad Druten

Episode contents

0:30 Rob sets the scene

1:00 Meet the guests

2:05 The campaign to increase reimbursement

3:08 EMTs are one missed shift away from poverty

3:45 Management and labor alliance

6:30 How labor and management can work together on political campaigns

9:00 We share a common humanity

11:00 We as an industry are not good at going hat in hand

13:00 The politicians are astonished at what we pay and that we are losing people to fast-food chains

14:00 Medi-Cal is for the patient to have equal access to healthcare

17:00 This is an economic nightmare

18:30 If you were in an elevator with a politician, what would your pitch be?

21:45 Find your champions – those elected officials that will fight for you

23:00 Acting as a coalition

24:40 Ambulance companies with staffing issues

26:10 Workers deserve a long and dignified career

28:30 The patient is at the center

30:00 A call to action

Additional resources on this topic

• California’s Fund First Responders

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