COVID-19 forever changed the face of work in America. Its implications are still present in many offices, mechanics shops, and storefronts.
Health care workers have been on the frontline since the beginning. While hailed as heroes in the early days of the pandemic, the industry now faces its own share of challenges.
A major crisis right now – staffing shortages. Michael Card, a political science professor at the University of South Dakota, said there aren't enough health care candidates in the state. One good example is registered nurses.
“There were almost 1,500 openings and three people in the employment service database for a job that pays $29 an hour. But it takes four years to make an RN," Card said. "It takes at least six years to make a physician beyond a baccalaureate degree, and there are almost 700 openings for physicians.”
Tight staffing leads to stressful work environments, which can lead to burnout. That’s a potentially dangerous consequence for someone who works with life and death.
“If there’s more people to be served than there is time to serve them, you end up likely with some degree of burnout," Card said. "That burnout certainly is a major cause of people leaving the labor force.”
That burnout can be seen firsthand at the Sturgis Ambulance Service. Ambulance director Shawn Fischer said they’re always looking for more EMT workers.
“EMTs start at what anyone can go to and work general retail, general fast food without an education, and our EMTs have to have a national certification. And you’re seeing life and death," Fischer said.
Fischer said ambulance services nationwide are closing down, including some in South Dakota.
“I don’t think a lot of people understand there doesn’t have to be an ambulance service in your area," Fischer said. "When Enning Ambulance closed for a period of two years, you went 100 miles without an ambulance.”
Fischer advocates for an increase in pay and benefits for emergency service workers, and a state reclassification of paramedics as essential employees.
“We are essential, we have the education to save lives," Fischer said. "As a paramedic we do the job of a respiratory therapist in a hospital, a nurse, and we don’t have anyone there telling us what meds to give. That’s from our education that we have to know what to do out in the field, in the ditch, putting an ET tube down somebody so they can breathe.”
In Rapid City, these services are performed by the Rapid City Fire Department, and most firefighters also double as an EMT responder. Keith Trojanowski, the battalion chief for A-shift, said this has been their model for about 20 years now.
“The individuals on those are trained at a minimum level of an EMT-B, which is basic, and from there they can advance that skill and knowledge all the way to a paramedic. We have an in-house accredited paramedic program that we send our guys to and also offer that to the public to attend,” Trojanowski said.
Providers can offer a range of care on any given call. From lightning-fast examinations for patients on-scene, to being a friendly and calming face for that patient in the back of an ambulance.
But Trojanowski said even a bigger community like Rapid City sees the same staffing challenges.
“Last year we formulated a recruitment committee, and these guys work very hard to see what’s trending out there, how we’re reaching those newer individuals that might be interested in a career in the fire service or EMS,” Trojanowski said.
It's enough of an issue to require recruiting changes.
“We’ve taken a lot of steps to increase our staffing as far as changing our hiring practices," Trojanowski said. "We used to do every two years, and now we’re hiring every year. We opened up seats to get guys filling those seats as early as possible, so we have EMS-only positions that we offer, and we get them introduced to our department quicker.”
Rapid City Fire Department chief Jason Culberson said he sees these trends everywhere.
“I think it's multifactorial, public safety is not the easiest profession to get into," Culberson said. "It’s hard – it’s hard on your body, it's hard on you mentally. We have difficulty, and Sioux Falls is just the same, [because] we can’t just shift really quickly. You can’t just come in, hire somebody, and put them right to work.”
But despite the challenges, stress, and uncertainty, Culberson said emergency response remains a rewarding field.
“If you really want to help your fellow human and help your community, it’s a great line of work to get into," Culberson said. "The passion behind doing this kind of work and the satisfaction you find in this line of work - people look up to you.”
The Rapid City Fire Department is currently in the middle of an academy class. When the class graduates in March, the department will be at a full staff of 135 for the first time in four years.