What Sedgwick County EMS has done — and still needs to do — to rebuild after crisis

The Eagle has put together a progress report on Sedgwick County EMS. The items are based on accreditation standards, changes proposed by county leaders and EMS employee priorities.

Completed tasks have a check mark, tasks not done have an “X” and tasks that are in progress have a “?” to show they could go either way.

(X) Response times that meet or exceed national standards

Sedgwick County EMS reaches a patient within 9 minutes of a 911 call one-third of the time in life-threatening emergencies, far below accreditation standards that call for patient contact within 9 minutes on 90% of those calls.

(?) Release monthly data on EMS performance

In 2019, former Sedgwick County EMS director Dr. John Gallagher stopped posting ambulance response data online. The move corresponded with rapidly slowing response times that went largely unnoticed because the information was not easily accessible to the public. The county has created an EMS dashboard in recent months, but it does not include data for 2021. The county’s formula for counting a response time largely ignores the patient’s perspective, leaving out the time it takes to dispatch an ambulance and for EMS to find the patient.

(X) Hire enough paramedics to put all ambulances in service



More than 50 paramedics have left Sedgwick County EMS since 2019, forcing the county to regularly take ambulances out of service based on staff levels on any particular shift.

(?) Competitive pay for paramedics

Sedgwick County EMS paramedic wages are lower than other area ambulance providers. The county has approved a temporary raise during the COVID-19 pandemic, and it is offering signing bonuses for new employees. A county initiative to increase pay across all county departments is in progress.

(X) Exit interviews to track why employees quit



Problems in EMS went undiagnosed for two years as 92 EMS employees left without exit interviews. When asked by The Eagle, many who left cited the former director, burnout, low pay and inaction by county leaders. County officials say new software for exit interviews could be available early next year.

(✓)Workplace complaint resolution policy for employees

Sedgwick County Commission approved a new workplace complaint policy to help identify and resolve conflicts before employees quit.

(✓)Separate EMS operations and the office of the medical director

EMS workers were disregarded in 2019 when they warned county leaders not to consolidate EMS operations and the medical director’s office, which elevated Gallagher to director. They said the two should remain separate to keep check and balances in place between protocols, training and field work.

(X) Citizen review and advisory board for EMS services



In July, County Manager Tom Stolz said he would immediately form such a board to hold the department and its leadership accountable. The board has not yet been formed.

(?) National search for a new EMS director with employee input

Sedgwick County opened a national search for a new EMS director in September and narrowed the field to two finalists with minimal input from EMS employees, frustrating some. But all EMS employees were invited to meet the finalists and provide input on who they think would be a better fit for the department.

(?) Hire a director who can rebuild Sedgwick County EMS

Sedgwick County EMS was once one of the premier ambulance services in the country. A new director will be in charge of a department that struggles to hire and retain paramedics and doesn’t meet its response time goals. In addition, new challenges threaten the future of the department, including a hint at a competition with the private company AMR.

This story was originally published December 19, 2021 at 4:30 AM.