Wake EMS cultivating teens to help fill paramedic gap

Wake County is one of many places across the country struggling to fill paramedic positions, so EMS is turning to some very young recruits.

"As the area grows, it takes longer for us to get places. That's just the reality. It's taking us longer to get there," Wake County EMS Assistant Chief Jeff Hammerstein said Tuesday.

County data shows that EMS crews answered about 81,300 calls in 2011, but that volume jumped by 32 percent by 2018, to about 107,400 calls.

With too few paramedics to staff ambulances – the county purchased five new ones this year to help meet the growing call volume – the average response time grew by almost 90 seconds during that period, according to county data.

To help fill some of the openings, the county held four Camp EMS sessions this summer to interest high school students in careers as paramedics.

"We're hoping that, [by] bringing them in, that we can get them excited about careers in medical care, and EMS care in particular, and they will come to work and take care of their own community," Hammerstein said.

Will Neal and Humairaa Zafiruddin are among 30 high school students enrolled in the free EMS summer camp this week.

"I want to be a paramedic. I want that to be my career. This is a good starting point for that," Neal said.

"I go home every night, and I tell my mom, 'Thank you so much for signing me up.' It's so interesting and cool," Zafiruddin said.

Sebastian Brelinski was a camper last year, and he's now a certified emergency medical technician.

"I really like the job. Being able to help people is really what it's all about," Brelinski said.

All of the camps offered this summer had a waiting list. The county also runs a youth program that meets the second Monday of each month throughout the year.

"We're having to find a lot of different ways to bring in and recruit people to work in Wake County," Hammerstein said, noting that the county has a goal of hiring 90 paramedics during the year.