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THURSDAY, APR IL 30, 2020 • KOKOMO TR IBUNE / PHAROS-TR IBUNE
GREENSHOOT MEDIA CONTENT
W
hile people working inside hos-
pitals are clearly playing a
heroic role, the first interaction
many people have with the health care
system happens in their own homes
and offices.
Emergency medical technicians
(EMTs) are in the middle of it all, out in
the community as a first line of defense
against a potentially deadly virus.
CHANGING JOB
According to reports in the New York
Times, first responders in New York
City are playing different roles than
their usual routine.
Always a high-stress job with life-or-
death consequences and tremendous
time pressure, New York’s EMTs took on
the added task of screening who should
and shouldn’t go to the hospital in the
heat of the coronavirus pandemic.
Some callers even fake symptoms, or
exaggerate their conditions, in hopes
of getting better care, the newspaper
reported.
EMTs now have the uncomfort-
able role of telling some patients they
shouldn’t go to the hospital.
RISKY CONDITIONS
While hospitals are known for having
sterile, somewhat controlled environ-
ments for treating medical conditions,
EMTs have to work in the real world.
That means they’re dealing with
unknown variables.
In addition to working through all
kinds of weather and fighting traffic to
quickly get to patients, they have to be
prepared for the possibility that every
person they interact with could poten-
tially be carrying the COVID-19 virus.
They are also dealing with the same
supply shortages as hospitals. Personal
protective equipment is in high demand
all around the globe, and EMTs are
forced to make the best of a less-than-
ideal situation in many cases.
HAZARD PAY?
United States Treasury Secretary
Steven Mnuchin has suggested that
coronavirus first-responders deserve
hazard pay because of the extraordinary
conditions they are working through
during the pandemic.
According to EMS1.com, which
covers the emergency medical industry,
the idea gets a mixed reaction among
medical employees.
“Many say the pay isn’t necessary,
arguing, ‘we knew what we signed up
for when we climbed onto the rig,’ while
others note the extraordinary circum-
stances, contending, ‘while the job of
paramedics and first responders has its
inherent risks, the COVID-19 pandemic
is outside the scope of everyday risks,’”
an editor’s note reads.
DISPATCHERS
While they are not physically on the
front lines fighting the coronavirus, the
dispatchers who take emergency calls
and communicate with first respond-
ers are no less impacted during the
pandemic.
Calls for emergency services are
reaching record levels in many areas.
The same calls for regular emergen-
cies continue to come in from car
wrecks, heart attacks and other health
problems, and the coronavirus only
compounds an already stressful job.
The safety of first responders also
rests on how well dispatchers commu-
nicate. They have to gauge whether a
patient has coronavirus symptoms so
EMTs can arrive with the right protec-
tive equipment. Not only that, but they
have to relay accurate information about
addresses and other details that can
save lives when time is at a premium.
FIRST RESPONDERS
Emergency medical technicians in the middle of it all
Photo provided
