Last Thursday, there were 39 available EMS units, and all were in use for 26 minutes as there was a surge of 911 calls for COVID-19 and other emergencies. Emergency calls were answered by SAFD, but transports were delayed. I just heard that EMS is not listed as an essential service in the state of Texas. That means paramedics, ambulatory services, and employees. They also get the worst insurance afforded to them. Do you think they should be considered essential? Let’s talk about it.
Mary Svetlik Watkins: “They also make less than $15 an hour, but the risk of injury is high.”
Shawn Armstrong: “I think when the feces hits the fan again, they just don’t have to go to work and show up. They, those who deemed them an unessential service, have to figure out how to get to the hospital when things get bad. We’ll find out who is essential then.”
Teddy Ray: “Extremely Underpaid!!!! They save lives. So sad.”
Cecily A. Jones: “That’s just wrong on so many levels in my opinion!”
Sarah Esparza: “That ol’ critter Greggy knew about this variant, knew it would be more aggressive, FAILED to take leadership, and here we are all because of his ignorance. How embarrassing that the great state of Texas is failing to protect its children. This is too much. Just watch, Greggy will start talking about the border just to distract from this issue.”
Raul Zamarripa: “People are so stupid and ignorant. This is real. I lost 3 family members, 1 last year, and 2 last week. Covid-19 is not a joke. It’s getting worse, especially for children. Protect your kids please!”
Lilly Kunz: “Now, ask how many times in the years past the same has happened, where EMS has all been out. This is not the first, or last time, it will happen, pandemic or not.”
Matilda Miranda: “And yet they still want kids who can’t get the vaccine out there!! First abortion rights, now sending kids with a risk?”
Jennie Fitch Taylor: “Exactly what happens when you don’t have enough ambulances for your city. Covid isn’t solely to blame for this.”
Lee Purcell Berry: “I don’t believe this is a crisis. I think this is the beginning of a plot/plan for more money/funding. If you panic people, then you just struck a match for the fire, and we all know they want more money. They think it puts out fires, but it actually never does. The more money they throw at it, the bigger it gets.”
David Stickelbault: “Is it due to lack of planning by the city, 12? Let us know. Curious minds want to know.”
Cindy L. WamplerWilliams: “As a former EMT….I can assure you that A LOT of these so-called “emergency calls” are people using the ambulance service as their personal taxi service!”
Jordyn Perrone: “I guess Covid is officially the only emergency worth mentioning anymore. Everyone is officially cured of strokes, accidents, seizures, heart disease, etc. Google the number one complaint in the ER right now and it’s chest pain. Chest pain can also be brought on by dehydration, adrenal dysfunction, stress, anxiety, and food allergies. Come on now, people, do better.”
Kevin Baxter: “Were they actually 911 dispatched emergency or transport services? City EMS shouldn’t be doing transport services. That’s what the contracted ambulance services are for. If these were facility transport, then that’s the city’s fault for taking the call to begin with.”
Monica Gutierrez: “Maybe, if people would stop using 911 as a taxi service, they’d have more time for the real emergencies.”
Preston Wye: “It became politicized a long time ago. Unfortunately, there’s no coming back from that. People don’t want to work together; they simply want to hang with their political clicks. Look at the trolls and antagonists. They don’t care unless it’s in their backyard. I know an anti-mask/vaxxer who finally got Covid-19 and died in 2.5 weeks, after living FREE for over 400 days and bragged about it, thinking he had natural immunity.”
Angel Bell: “Soooooo, why are people waiting for Abbott to decide people’s fate? I think people have enough common sense to know how to protect themselves after a year of this virus. It’s sad that a lot of people of all ages are catching it. This is what happens when you ease up too fast. I hope those who have it heal and live. Prayers to all, even those who don’t have it.”
