Police departments, fire departments, ambulance services: The front-line organizations that protect Pennsylvanians in their hour of need are contending with a mix of financial and staffing challenges that amount to a full-scale crisis, leaders told the Republican state House Policy Committee Wednesday.
As WITF and WGAL report in their coverage of the hearing, emergency responders are seeking reforms and financial support from state government. Without it, they said, they will be forced to curtail services, leaving their communities in the lurch.
“The EMS system in the commonwealth is broken,” Don DeReamus of the Ambulance Association of Pennsylvania told the committee, while Pennsylvania State Troopers Association President David Kennedy called the inability of police bureaus to recruit and retain a full complement of officers “a full-scale catastrophe.”
First responders said they’re being asked to cover larger territories with fewer resources, leading to lengthy response times. DeReamus said his EMS service in Monroe County responds to calls in Pike County, 45 minutes away.
State police and local departments are competing for the same pool of candidates, which is far smaller than it was a generation ago, officers said.
Ambulance services and fire departments are facing the same issue, along with sky-high costs for the specialized vehicles they require. Insurance reimbursements for ambulance runs don’t come close to covering costs, DeReamus said.
WITF’s report notes the recent response in northern Lancaster County to the challenges, announced the same day as the hearing: the formation of a municipal emergency services authority that will be able to charge an annual fee on property owners in the eight municipalities it will serve.
The state legislature is currently in recess. The House is scheduled to reconvene on Tuesday, the Senate on the following Monday, Feb. 27.
