||| FROM MIA KARTIGANER |||
Unlike mainland emergency responders with easy access to hospital ERs, Orcas Island’s EMTs are uniquely mentored in helping to sustain life for as long as it takes to shepherd people off island. We have to wait for emergency transportation to the nearest hospital or the one most qualified to care for whatever ails us.
Hiring from within our fire department means that we have emergency responders with experience here. It means that when our EMTs are off shift they remain on island and are able to immediately respond to emergencies that may arise. Last year there were no fewer than 740 emergency medical calls, with an average of 22 overlapping medical emergencies each month, this seems too important not to work towards.
No longer having paramedics who live here full time makes it all the more important, for our own safety and peace of mind.
There have been numerous instances of late in which qualified locals have been overlooked or disqualified by ever changing hiring parameters. These jobs are among the few that provide living wage positions for islanders. We have a number of long time dedicated volunteers who could seamlessly transition into steady employment with the department. I’m not sure why our tax dollars are being spent on people who don’t spend them here.
A lot of time and money are invested in training volunteers as EMTs and Firefighters. Employed local responders are the return on our investment.
Mia, I believe the model you speak of is actually an opportunity that Orcas Fire has done in the past, I can think of a few volunteers who have stepped up thru the ranks and have served our Community. In fact we have one Paramedic currently serving who went thru such a program and is currently one of our full time Paramedics.
For a long time, several of our Paramedics hold multiple jobs in other districts, seems to be the situation.
The magic is creating a cohesive team, that supports the dynamics of a small Island culture. One wonders, probably all our islands suffer similar challenges, wouldn’t it be great if San Juan Co could unite thru the Union to help facilitate a robust pool of local Talent that United this service, it may already exist, but there where the energy could be harvested.