I-Team Investigation: Rush to Respond – The Shortage

COACHELLA VALLEY, Calif. (KESQ) - The need for paramedics remains a national emergency, especially in places like the Coachella Valley with a growing older population. I-Team investigator Peter Daut dug deeper into how the shortfall affects the people you rely on during 911 emergencies.

Right now there are about 760 working paramedics in Riverside County, which is about the same number from a few years ago. The difference is that the population continues to grow.

Palm Springs paramedic Vicky Iglesias spends her days saving lives, often responding to half a dozen emergencies.

"Whether it's respiratory, cardiac, medical, trauma," Iglesias said. "How stressful is your job?" Daut asked her. "It can be very stressful," she replied.

That stress is compounded by the nationwide shortage of paramedics, which can affect response times to emergencies. "The faster we get to you, the faster we get you get to the hospital, the faster you get treated. So that kind of affects everybody because you just never know when you'll have an emergency," she said.

Iglesias works for the company AMR, which is the main provider of paramedics for most of the Coachella Valley, partnering with fire departments and other agencies for emergency medical services. Operations Supervisor Michael Moore said that since the pandemic it has been a struggle everywhere to find paramedics.

"On a day-to-day basis, we've had to have employees work longer shifts, more days a week to cover the shortage," Moore said.

And that also explains why many of those employees commute to the Valley from far away, including Moore who lives in Temecula. And though he says most of AMR's paramedics have stepped up to fill the gap, the overall shortage is still a problem. "If somebody calls out sick it means there's one less ambulance on the street, or we end up having to pull people, force people essentially, to pick up overtime," he said. "How concerned should people be about the shortage?" Daut asked him. "I think they should be concerned. It's something that's detrimental to the community, not only locally but nationwide. When there is a shortage, it could be life or death," he replied.

And the numbers tell the story: According to the American Ambulance Association, overall turnover is 23 to 40 percent; 38% of turnover is in the first year. And why are they leaving? Pay and change in careers are the greatest reasons.

"Sometimes it's hard to keep up, but we do our best," Moore said.

But Moore said the situation is improving. In the Valley alone since 2021, AMR has transitioned 20 EMTs to paramedics through its sponsorship program. Right now, another 12 paramedics are in the pipeline who should be out in the next six months. Countywide, 80 of AMR's EMTs have become paramedics since 2021, with an additional 80 currently in the pipeline. "So we're looking at 160 people over five years becoming paramedics, which is huge," Moore said.

Something else that's huge: the new paramedic program at College of the Desert. As we reported, the free, year-long program can take up to 30 students per year, nearly all of whom are from the Valley and expected to remain here after they graduate.

"Are you hopeful that things will get better?" Daut asked him. "Absolutely, yeah. We are definitely starting to see an upward trend in our paramedics coming out from EMT school and paramedics school, and now actually working on ambulances," he replied.

In fact, they're so hopeful that some ambulances are now equipped with two paramedics to respond to emergencies, versus the more common paramedic and EMT. But the situation can still be difficult, especially when there's a higher call volume or major incident.

Vicky Iglesias went from being an EMT to a paramedic three years ago, and said having a well-staffed EMS system can mean the difference between life or death.

"The faster we get to you, the faster you get to the hospital, the faster you get treated. So that kind of affects everybody, because you just never know when you'll have an emergency," she said.

Check out part one of Peter Daut's special report on the local shortfall in qualified paramedics